Chances of white Christmas in UK grow smaller as climate crisis takes toll
Parts of UK have more recently gone decades without Christmas snow, and in the past it was more hardship than dream
Twenty years ago it was no snow at Christmas ever again. Now it’s odds have gone down. Presumably because now we can just look out the window and check.
40 years ago; “You’re talking about the weather, fool! I’m talking about the CLIMATE!!!!
35 years ado; “I’m starting to look a bit silly, talking about Global Warming!” “My mate Dave says we re-brand it and call it Climate Change. Then whatever the weather is, we can blame the peasantry!”
“Triff idea, Tony!”
30 years ago; “Tony, you know you said rub their noses in it about all those immigrants, what say we all jet off somewhere exotic when we have our jollies about CC?”
Last week; Red alert ‘Danger to life’ warning as 80mph winds forecast
According to my local news weather man 53 of the last 64 Christmases were white .
1 flake on the roof somewhere qualifies.
We have already had snow here in Scotland; it just won’t stay snow for some reason. So, snow is certainly a feature of winters here in the land of Alba. Even in summer, if you are up a mountain, as happened to me once.
At Christmas, not so much but come January-February we get it at least once and sometimes it lingers for days until the wind changes.
The weather always surprises. Back in 1975 we had snow in June. I remember watching a cricket match abandoned because of the snow. It snowed in London too. Climate experts talk of an ice age coming lasted till the summer of 76.
AndyF
Some Gen Z pantswetter was beside themselves the other month that I didn’t share the same alarm re climate as they did.
I explained that we were predicted an ice age 40 year ago so pardon me if I treat anything that climate scientists say with a modicum of skepticism.
BUT THAT WAS THE MEDIA SAYING ICE AGE!! NO CLIMATE SCIENTISTS PREDICTED AN ICE AGE
It’s all so tiresome.
Ah, so when I look outside and see snow it’s just “Weather”, but when some moron who’s been indoctrinated at the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia looks out the window and sees, not snow, but flipper boiling in the dregs of the last ice floe, that’s “Climate”?
Yeah, no. Phuq off.
At least when they were talking about “The Next Ice Age” back in the 1970’s, they had a modicum of justification at the time.
Two weeks ago my North Yorkshire town was cut off by snow over three days. What “no white Chritsmas”?
“The Next Ice Age” is most definitely on its way. Sometime in the next 1,000-10,000 years. I lose little sleep over it.
Recently El Reg had a competition for the best wrong prediction for tech in 2024. This was my submission:
The Met Office updates their climate model. It tells them that CO2 is pretty much inconsequential – it’s the Sun wot dun it, and we’ll have a nice warm century but then the next ice age starts in 2100.
I didn’t win!
Snow at Christmas is a Dickensian myth.
Genuine white Christmases have always been pretty rare as the snowy weather tends to arrive in January and February. I remember that when I was a kid it once snowed heavily on the night of boxing day. We got a covering on Xmas day 1993 which was our first Christmas in our house, it melted straight away.
“ Two weeks ago my North Yorkshire town was cut off by snow over three days. What “no white Chritsmas”?”
I imagine the headline in your local rag was something like: snow on moors, England/Yorkshire cut off.
“Now it’s odds have gone down.”
No. They’re claiming that the odds have gone UP.. If their claim is that the “chances of white Christmas in UK grow smaller”, then they’re claiming that the odds against it happening have risen, rather than gone down.
A 1 in 10 chance is odds of 9/1, while a smaller chance, say 1 in 15, is odds of 14/1.
Sorry. I’m a gambler. These things niggle me.
We approve of pendantry around here…..
I always feel odds should “shorten” or “lengthen” rather than “increase” or “go down” or whatever, if only to keep the language separate from the probabilities which move in the opposite direction…
Paul,
They are claiming the odds have gone up. Tim alternatively is claiming that the odds have come down (because 20 years ago there was “zero” chance)… If I read it correctly..:)
PF: I read it as Tim pointing out their story twenty years ago was that there would never be snow at Christmas again, but now it (i.e., their story) is that , well, all right, yes, there will be snow at Christmas again, but, hey, it’s become less likely, so it’s still proof that Flipper will boil.
But yes. It’s one reason I apologized for the pendantry. I might have misunderstood the post in the first place.
Christmas morning 2010, five miles south of Taunton in the balmy West Country:
https://serving.photos.photobox.com/912431274e173f8db9be3887e453a8cb162abf55dfc29313e043c6e5181677c57d6c1e3d.jpg
I can’t remember if we had a white Christmas then but returning from ringing in the New Year 1963 we walked home in the middle of the main road in a heavy blizzard. That was just the start of it…
At 750 ft ASL on the Lancashire side of the Pennines we did get some snow most winters when I grew up there in the 60s. Here in East Suffolk it’s about one good covering every 10 years or so now, and I do remember one winter with no frost.
Paul – you’re right ……. and I can’t even blame the time of evening on refreshment.