Accumulating snow/sleet can be expected on only 3-5 days, mostly during the months of December to February. Fortunately, the snow does not stay on the ground in London very long; most of the time it melts away very quickly. This is due to the urban heat island effect.
Yes, it does snow in London, but not very frequently. London's temperate climate tends to be milder than other places on the same latitude in Europe, so heavy or long-lasting snow is rare. During the winter months, the city may experience light snowfall or flurries, but these usually melt away quickly.
The most recent time London had a snowy holiday was in 2022, with 2021, 2020, and 2017 also being classed white Christmases. But most of us think of a white Christmas as blankets of snow covering the UK – yet London hasn't seen a truly white Christmas for 20 years.
Winters in London are characterised by cold and often rainy weather. The average high between December and February is 48°F (9°C) and the average low is 41°F (5°C). However, freezing temperatures are not uncommon and snow is not unheard of. Be sure to pack a winter coat along with a hat, gloves and scarf.
10 DAY TREND 07-02-24 UK WEATHER FORECAST - Elizabeth Rizzini has the details.
What is the coldest city in the UK?
The UK's Top 10 Coldest Cities
It probably won't come as a surprise that the coldest cities are all in the north of the UK. Newry and Aberdeen take top spot, with an average day time temperature of 10.58°C.
The snowiest place of all in the UK is Cairngorms National Park in Scotland, which gets an average 76 days of snow each year. The Shetland Islands get on average 64 days of snow, with Fair Isle getting 62 and Orkney 59.
The temperatures of London are much milder than those of NYC. NYC is both warmer in the summer and colder in the winter - London is just London all the time. London's temperatures average winter lowers around 40 degrees F (or 5 Celsius) and summer highs get up to around 70 degrees F (21 Celsius).
This is partly because the city generates so much heat from the buildings and cars that it rarely gets cold enough for it to snow (or at least for the snow to settle). Generally, London is several degrees warmer than the neighboring countryside beyond the city.
Between 1960 and 2020, London had six white Christmases, Cardiff had four and Belfast and Edinburgh each had 11. Within that period, however, London had stretches of up to 20 years without yuletide snow. And it seems Crosby's dream is becoming ever more remote.
Even in central London, there were 3-foot drifts in places. Around 100 people are believed to have died as a result of the blizzard. The storm was accompanied by extreme cold. Comparisons are drawn to the Great Blizzard of 1899 which affected the United States.
Snowfall is not uncommon in some Southern African countries. Johannesburg, a major city in Gauteng province situated in Southeastern Africa, has experienced intermittent snowfall over the years. Meanwhile, the Drakensberg Mountain range in South Africa receives enough snow for skiing during winter.
The shortest day here comes at the winter solstice, on 21 December. On that day, London gets just under 8 hours of daylight, as Earth's north pole is pointing away from the Sun. In the summer equivalent in June, days last over 8 hours 45 mins longer in London.
How come the United States gets more snow than the United Kingdom? Because the US is part of a large continent, the UK is an island surrounded by water with the Gulf Stream flowing up the west coast, giving much more temperate temperatures and more changeable weather.
Below-freezing temperatures, however, are not uncommon, and snow is not unheard of. Accumulating snow/sleet can be expected on only 3-5 days, mostly during the months of December to February. Fortunately, the snow does not stay on the ground in London very long; most of the time it melts away very quickly.
For most of us it's usually pretty exciting to see snow in the UK, because it doesn't happen all that often. The reason for this is that we are surrounded by relatively warm seas, which can often keep our temperatures up.
The damp cold can make UK weather FEEL somewhat colder than it really is, though. The only places in Canada that are really comparable to the UK are Vancouver and Victoria and the west coast in B.C., The places known as the 'warm parts' of Canada.
Those living in London should slap on the sun factor as the English capital beat all other UK cities to claim the hot top spot. This is thanks to a maximum temperature of 15.3 degrees celsius, 256 dry days and only 557 mm of rainfall annually.
Yes, it does snow in Spain! While it might come as a surprise to many, Spain is home to several mountain ranges, including the Pyrenees and the Sierra Nevada, which receive substantial snowfall each winter. The country has at least 30 ski resorts dispersed throughout these mountain ranges.
On average, the amount of air frost days per year is below the national average, and in winter, snow is not very common, with heavy snow occurring rarely.
On average there are 38 days of snow in Scotland, with 26 days of settled snow on the ground. Most of the snow falls in northern mountainous areas like the Cairngorms, Glencoe and Torridon. Generally, snowfall is in the colder months of January and February but can arrive as early as November and stay as late as April.
