Will it be cold enough to snow this Christmas?

Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? With the big day a week away, it is possible that some of us might have some festive snow - but only just.

After a couple of weeks of milder conditions it's about to turn noticeably colder. Temperatures for many parts of the UK may be a degree or two below the average for this time of year, hitting the 6-9C mark.

The drop will be a result of an influx of cold air from eastern Europe.

And if there are some small changes to that, there is a slight chance that even colder air from Scandinavia might come this way, and the possibility that any showers falling in eastern areas might turn to sleet or even snow.

The change in fortunes is down to a high pressure system which is going to build close to the north of the UK and a low pressure one forming around France or Spain.

Although they will not be directly over the UK, the precise position of the centres of these highs and lows will determine the direction of the wind. In turn, that will influence how cold the air will be and therefore the chances of snow falling.

As well as becoming much colder generally in time for Christmas it will probably be quite cloudy with showers developing over the North Sea and affecting eastern areas.

The best of any sunshine would be in the north and west but there will be also be a risk of some morning frost and fog.

Currently the forecast is for east-southeasterly winds but there is a very small chance that we get east-northeasterlies instead.

This small change in wind direction could then pull in much colder air from Scandinavia resulting in showers over eastern areas that could turn to sleet or snow in places.

Although a white Christmas is still unlikely for most of us, it can't completely be ruled out just yet.

Either way, very wet weather is off the Christmas menu this year. This spell of quieter spell of weather will be very much welcomed in areas which have recently seen heavy rain such as Cumbria and south Wales.

Our experience of Christmas past should tell us that it's rare to see snow actually fall on Christmas day - and getting rarer.