When was the last time Birmingham had a white Christmas?
The last time we saw a White Christmas in Birmingham was 2010. This was when snow was widespread across the UK. The 2010 White Christmas was reported as extremely unusual. It was the coldest Christmas ever recorded in the UK.
When was the last time it snowed on Christmas in Birmingham?
Nothing makes Christmas more magical than waking up a picturesque dusting of snow on the big day. But a proper White Christmas is something we haven't seen for over a decade now. The last time we saw a White Christmas in Birmingham was 2010.
Meanwhile in the UK, 2022 was the last white Christmas in the UK with 9% of stations recording snow falling, although none reported any snow lying on the ground. The last widespread white Christmas in the UK was also in 2010.
Once again, it seems very unlikely that we will have a white Christmas this year. The BBC weather forecast for Christmas Day in Birmingham is currently predicting temperatures of around 6 and 7 degrees celsius with lows of 3 degrees and sunny intervals and a gentle breeze on the big day.
White Christmas (Lyric Video / Live At Alabama Theatre, Birmingham, AL / 2000)
When was the last white Christmas UK 2023?
Snow, sleet and rain moved across parts of Scotland, with Tulloch Bridge and Aviemore recording snowflakes, the Met Office said. The forecaster said this made Christmas Day 2023 an “official white Christmas”, which is defined by at least one snowflake falling on 25 December.
Met Office forecasters confirmed "some snow falling across the Scottish high ground" just after midday on Monday. Christmas 2023 is officially a white one - despite parts of the country reaching the highest minimum daily temperature on record for 25 December.
What are the chances of a white Christmas in the UK?
Will there be a white Christmas in 2023? According to betting.com, the chances of a white Christmas somewhere in the UK are 7/4, with London being an outside bet at 9/1. The latest odds were given on December 14. White Christmases were more frequent in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Christmas 1981 showed that the term 'white Christmas' might not be quite what it seems. Following some deep falls of snow on the 8th and the 11th December there was a full scale blizzard on Sunday 13th. Even the Queen became a victim of deep snowdrifts and had to take refuge in a Cotswold pub.
The coldest all time reading in Birmingham is -6F on January 21, 1985. It has been as warm as 81F on January 10th, in 1949. The mercury drops to 32F or below on about 15 days in the month. On average, Birmingham receives 4.84 inches of rain, making it the second wettest on average.
During the coldest night recorded, 14 January 1982, the temperature fell to −20.8 °C (−5.4 °F) at Birmingham Airport, but just −14.3 °C (6.3 °F) at Edgbaston, near the city centre. Birmingham is a snowy city relative to other large UK conurbations, due to its inland location and comparatively high elevation.
Winter in Birmingham is cold, although it's not unbearably so, and if you pack well you'll enjoy even the chillest day out in the city. It's possible to get snow, especially in January and February, although snow isn't the most common weather in Birmingham in the winter.
“For widespread and substantial snow on the ground on Christmas Day, we have to go back to 2010,” said the Met Office spokesperson Nicola Maxey. Between 1960 and 2020, London had six white Christmases, Cardiff had four and Belfast and Edinburgh each had 11.
So, although some milder and unsettled weather appears likely, there could be prolonged spells of drier weather as high pressure becomes dominant. It could turn cold at times with the more blocked weather too, though confidence is low on how cold and where may be coldest and see risk of wintry weather.
Temperature-wise, it's estimated that 2023 will be the hottest year on record - and probably in the last 120,000 years - with the Met Office forecasting 2024 to be hotter still. The UK has already warmed by more than 1C above the pre-industrial average, leading to winters shortening and summers lengthening.
The experts at OLBG have profiled the latest betting odds and statistics surrounding the chances of a White Christmas taking place in 2023 - and there's a 14.30% chance of snow in Birmingham, so it's not looking particularly promising at this moment in time.
Though it has been reported in some places that a snow bomb could hit the UK, the Met Office has debunked those claims, saying that while there will be low pressure across the UK, only higher ground will see snow and any resemblance to a snow bomb is incredibly unlikely.
Only 20 Christmases have seen measurable (greater than a trace) new snowfall since 1893 (or, about 16% of the time). Only four of these days recorded more than an inch.
The Met Office's extended forecast also suggests the potential for snow towards the end of 2023, but these predictions are subject to change. For most of Britain, it is expected that people will experience a wet, but milder Christmas day.
White Christmases are more common than you might think. In fact, at least one snowflake has fallen somewhere in the UK on Christmas Day 38 times in the last 55 years. Perhaps to most people, though, snow-covered ground is what really ticks the Christmas box. Using this measure it is, of course, more unusual.
