London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Met Office confirms white Christmas as snow falls in Scotland

Met Office confirms white Christmas as snow falls in Scotland

It's officially a white Christmas, according to the Met Office.

Reports of snow have been confirmed in Braemar and Aboyne in Aberdeenshire, Strathallan in Perthshire and across Shetland.

Traffic camera footage also revealed snow or sleet fell across the Yorkshire Dales in England.

The Met Office defines a white Christmas as when one snowflake is observed to fall in the 24 hours of Christmas somewhere in the UK.

A spokeswoman said: "We have seen snowfall through the early hours of Christmas Day, though there has not been any significant snowfall since 5am this morning.

"Up until then we saw snowfall across Aberdeenshire, Perthshire and Shetland.

"We have seen snowfall on Christmas Day, so it is officially a white Christmas."

BBC Weather Watcher Georgie captured this snowy scene at Insh in the Highlands

The garden complemented the Christmas decorations in this shot from another WeatherWatcher Emma in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire


Many parts of the UK saw rain on Christmas Day although it was cold and bright in north East England and Scotland.

The rain in Northern Ireland was particularly heavy and there were warnings of localised flooding.

Snow is expected to be more widespread on 26th December with a yellow warning in place for parts of central and southern Scotland and northern England.

In recent times about half of Christmas Days have seen some snowfall recorded somewhere in the UK but the widespread coverings evoked by Dickensian Christmas scenes are now a rare event.

There has only been a widespread covering - where more than 40% of weather stations in the UK reported snow on the ground at 09:00 - four times since 1960, in 1981, 1995, 2009 and 2010, according to the Met Office.


Last year was also technically a white Christmas, with 6% of weather stations reporting some snow falling but in most places it did not lie on the ground, and there was no snow recorded in 2018 or 2019.

The UK is generally more likely to see snow between January and March than in December, and climate change has also reduced the likelihood of Christmas snowfall.

White Christmases were more frequent in the 18th and 19th centuries, even more so before the change of calendar in 1752 which, in effect, brought Christmas Day back by 12 days.

BBC Weather Watcher MikeN found evidence that Santa Paws had visited Torphins, Aberdeenshire.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×