Home
Weather Dublin
WeatherRadar
RainfallRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
    Home / Editor's Pick /

    Christmas forecast: When was our last white Christmas?

08:00
23 December 2023

Christmas forecast
When was our last white Christmas?

2020 was a white Christmas, however, only 4% of stations reported any snow lying on the ground. Hexham, Northumberland.
2020 was a white Christmas, however, only 4% of stations reported any snow lying on the ground. Hexham, Northumberland. - © picture alliance

A white Christmas is defined as one snowflake observed falling somewhere in the UK within the 24 hours of Christmas, but when did we last have one?

In the UK, the definition of a white Christmas was set by the Met Office. It used to be that a snowflake had to fall on the Met Office's building in London, but today it's if just one snowflake falls somewhere.

In Ireland, Met Éireann similarly state that a white Christmas is defined by the measure of any quantity of snow falling anytime over Christmas Day. The last proper Irish white Christmas was in 2010, with a spectacular 27cm of snow.

Privacy Policy

Last year, in 2022 however, there was snow falling in Ireland, in places such as Kildare, as captured above.

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.

So will we have a white Christmas this year? Keep tabs on the WeatherRadar to see if you can find any hints of pink on there!

Difficulties of forecasting snowread more
Weather & Radar editorial team
More on the topic
Record ocean heat halting hurricanes. Strong El Niño influence. . . Friday 11 September 2026
A weather map shows a calm Atlantic Ocean with no hurricanes, alongside a picture of the sea.
Friday 11 September 2026

Strong El Niño influence

Record ocean heat halting hurricanes
Severe weather hits Mallorca and Italy. Severe thunderstorms. . Weather Videos. Thursday 10 September 2026
Numerous thunderstorms are sweeping across La Palma. The many lightning symbols on the radar and lightning map show that there is heavy lightning activity across large parts of the island. The thunderstorms are striking particularly in the island’s interior and in the south. On the right, you can see the aftermath: a large fallen tree has buried a car beneath it. Emergency services are clearing up the damage. So, along with the thunderstorms, not only heavy rain but also gusts of wind can become a problem.
Weather VideosThursday 10 September 2026

Severe thunderstorms

Severe weather hits Mallorca and Italy
Autumn colours light the skies. Your weather - Your shots. . . Sunday 13 September 2026
Split image showing a fiery red-orange sunset over a rural road and fields beside a golden sea sunset with a silhouetted seabird in flight.
Sunday 13 September 2026

Your weather - Your shots

Autumn colours light the skies
All weather news
This might also interest you
Long-term trends need a pinch of salt. 40 °C in July?. . . Tuesday 30 June 2026
Temperature radar of 2022 heatwave where the all-time temperature record in the UK was set. Warning symbol overlain.
Tuesday 30 June 2026

40 °C in July?

Long-term trends need a pinch of salt
Historic Storm Éowyn arrives. On this day.... . . Saturday 24 January 2026
Split image showing a person in a yellow jacket struggling against strong winds and heavy rain on a street at night on the left, and an Irish wind forecast map on the right with red and purple shading, gusts up to 75 mph, and a wind warning icon, divided by a curved white line.
Saturday 24 January 2026

On this day...

Historic Storm Éowyn arrives
New records for England and Wales. Broken again tomorrow?. . . Thursday 25 June 2026
Temperature map of southwest Britain on 25.06 showing extreme heat across southern Wales and southwest England, with Bute Park in Cardiff highlighted at 34.2°C and Yeovilton at 36.4°C amid widespread deep red heat zones.
Thursday 25 June 2026

Broken again tomorrow?

New records for England and Wales
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy Policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

facebooktwitteryouTubelinkList