|
Christmas
will soon be upon us; a depressing thought to some, the source of
great excitement to others.
As always, everyone and their reindeer wants to know if it is
going to be a White Christmas. The first hint of colder weather
will see punters flooding to the bookmakers in the hope of landing
a cash Christmas present.  |
| Richard
Angwin |
As
always, everyone and their reindeer wants to know if it is going
to be a White Christmas. The first hint of colder weather will see
punters flooding to the bookmakers in the hope of landing a cash
Christmas present.
You
rarely see a poor bookmaker, so let us start with the odds being
offered by the major betting organisations.
A mild
November is likely to see initial odds of around 9/1 at the beginning
of December. A cold snap early in the month might see those odds
cut to as little as 5/2.
Click
on the link below for pictures of Gloucestershire's snowiest recent
winters
So
are these realistic odds and what constitutes the best bet? Most
bookmakers offer odds on several UK cities including London, Cardiff,
Glasgow, Manchester and Aberdeen.
The
odds for London are the least generous, simply because the capital
attracts by far the biggest bets. Yet its geographical position
and the heat thrown out by such a large city make snow in London
statistically less likely than in most other cities.
By
the same token the odds for Aberdeen can be surprisingly generous
particularly when you bear in mind that snow is quite common along
the east coast of Scotland during December.
Modern
myth
The
idea of a White Christmas is a modern myth which has its roots in
the romanticism of the Victorian Age.
Snowy
Christmases were a feature of our weather during the 'Little Ice
Age' which lasted from about 1550 to 1850. Today snow is most likely
to occur in February, March and even April, when the temperature
of the sea around our coast is at its lowest.
BBC
Radio Gloucestershire weather warden Ian Thomas says Gloucestershire
had only five
white Christmases in the 20th century - and we have yet to see one
this millennium.
He
says: "The whitest was in 1927 when Christmas Day started with
rain that turned into snow by the end of the day. By Boxing Day
evening there were deep drifts."
In
1956 several inches of snow fell on Christmas Day, 1970 and 1981
both saw a slight dusting and there was some snow on high ground
in 1993.
Snowfall
on the famous Arctic winter of 1962-63 began on Boxing Day and the
big freeze lasted until early March.
»Winter
1962-63 in memories and photos
We
should begin to have some idea as to whether we can expect cold
weather around Christmas by the beginning of December and the website
will keep you posted with the latest forecasts in the run-up to
December 25.
by
Richard Angwin
If
you would like to comment on this or any other story in this section get in
touch at gloucestershire@bbc.co.uk |
