A snow warning has been issued by the Met Office for Christmas Day.
After wintry conditions caused havoc across the north and north-east at the beginning of the month, the north and north-east is enjoying more mild weather.
However, the Met Office believes significant snow might now be on the way for Christmas Day and has issued a yellow warning due to possible disruption.
Frequent and blustery snow showers are expected to hit areas in the Highlands, Aberdeenshire and Moray from 9pm on Christmas Day until 6pm on Boxing Day.
Forecasters expect up to one inch of snow to fall on lower ground, with potentially up to four inches falling on hills on Christmas Day with the same again on Boxing Day.
⚠️ Yellow weather warning issued ⚠️
Snow and ice across parts of northern and western Scotland
Sunday 2100 – Monday 1800Latest info 👉 https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs
Stay #WeatherAware⚠️ pic.twitter.com/XCCk3QjPAm
— Met Office (@metoffice) December 23, 2022
Some snow is also forecast on higher ground on Christmas Eve as cold air arrives from the north-west for the weekend.
Strong to gale force winds bring the risk of drifting and blizzards for upland areas, and the wintry weather may cause some travel disruption.
Here is the weather forecast for December 25 in towns and cities across the region:
- Aberdeen (8C/2C) – cloudy.
- Aboyne (7C/-1C) – cloudy changing to sunny intervals by late morning.
- Braemar (6C/-1C) – cloudy changing to sunny in the afternoon.
- Elgin (7C/2C) – cloudy changing to clear by night-time.
- Fort William (8C/3C) – partly cloudy.
- Inverness (6C/2C) – partly cloudy changing to sunny by lunchtime.
- Kirkwall (8C/4C) – cloudy changing to sunny in the afternoon.
- Lerwick (8C/3C) – cloudy.
- Newtonmore (5C/0C) – overcast changing to light rain in the afternoon.
- Peterhead (8C/3C) – cloudy changing to sunny intervals by late morning.
- Stornoway (8C/3C) – cloudy changing to light rain by lunchtime.
- Wick (8C/3C) – cloudy changing to sunny intervals in the afternoon.
The forecast shows snow is expected over higher ground on Christmas Eve, including in rural communities like Tomintoul, Aboyne and Braemar.
And forecasters think there is a chance of snow showers across the Highlands, Moray and Aberdeenshire later in the day on Christmas Day.
‘Unsettled’ weather for Christmas
The Met Office is warning that the festive weekend will be “unsettled” for many across the Highlands, Aberdeenshire and Moray as well as the islands, despite them not being covered by the weather warning.
Deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office, David Oliver, said: “An unsettled Christmas weekend is on the way for many, with those in the north and west seeing the most frequent and the heaviest showers. High winds will affect some coasts through the weekend with gales in places, especially the north and west.
“Christmas Day will be unsettled for many, with the most frequent showers in the northern half of the UK and some more sporadic and mostly lighter showers further south.
“There is some uncertainty about the timing of colder air from the north-west, but it looks like this will introduce some snow showers to the north-west of Scotland late on Christmas Day.”
Looking ahead towards the New Year, there is potential for a more settled spell to bring overnight frosts and morning fog, before a probable trend towards more changeable and milder conditions.
White Christmas in numbers: Sixty years of snow days in the north and north-east
Conversation