White Christmas Betting Odds 2024: Will It Snow At Xmas This Year?

Betting sites believe there is a better chance of 2024 delivering a White Christmas compared to last year, with Aberdeen airport the most likely place to witness snow on December 25.

Aberdeen leads the betting as bookies reckon there is a 47.6% chance that it will snow on the north eastern coast of Scotland.

Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle follow swiftly behind, while there is seemingly almost a one-in-five chance that Belfast enjoys a flurry of the white stuff.

Parts of Scotland and northern England were treated to snow in mid-November, but recent mild weather means the likelihood of a White Christmas is starting to diminish.

White Christmas Odds 2024

This has naturally got punters wondering if cold snaps are heading this direction before the New Year, which is usually when the mercury starts to fall below zero.

Last year was officially a White Christmas as snow fell at Tulloch Bridge and Aviemore in Scotland, yet other parts of the country witnessed temperatures as high as 13.6C.

So why do the bookies suggest we could have snowfall in one of the UK’s big city airports this year? Let’s take a look…

UK bookmakers reckon Scotland has the best chance of witnessing snow at Christmas. 

That’s not a surprise given Scotland’s northerly position and mountainous altitude.

Yet the betting focus isn’t on whether it snows at all but whether it snows at a city’s airport. That’s why even Aberdeen isn’t given more than a 50/50 chance of witnessing snow.

Still, Aberdeen seems the most likely contender as freezing cold Arctic air sweeps in from the North Sea and Scandinavia. 

Glasgow (6/4) and Edinburgh (13/8) follow closely behind. It’s usually less likely to snow around Clydeside and the Forth Estuary due to low altitude.

How Christmas Day Snow Betting Works

Officially, the Met Office declares a White Christmas if a single snowflake is detected to have fallen anywhere in the country. That means we could have an official snowy 25th if there’s a brief flurry in Orkney, despite it being 12°C in Cornwall.

Bookmakers have a different way of doing things. They offer White Christmas odds on individual UK airports, where weather forecasts and reports are continually updated.

That’s why punters can bet on Glasgow seeing snow on Christmas Day, rather than the UK as a whole.

Bookies pay out for that bet if Glasgow airport confirms the presence of snow.

What Are The Odds Of It Snowing On Christmas Day?

The latest Christmas Day snow odds suggest Aberdeen has slightly less than a 50% chance of witnessing the white stuff, at 11/10 with BetVictor.

Glasgow and Edinburgh could also enjoy a flurry, although it’s unlikely to be at the same level that ground the country to a halt in 2010.

In England, BetVictor has priced Newcastle at 2/1 to witness snow, and Leeds-Bradford airport recently drifted to 5/1 from 4/1 with William Hill. 

Liverpool and Manchester are also 5/1, while Cardiff’s odds have taken a significant change. The Welsh capital was 9/1 to witness snow in 2023 but is now 8/1 with betting apps.

That shift is also seen in Belfast, which was 4/1 last year but now sits at 3/1 for 2024.

White Xmas Every Six Years

Britain’s average December temperatures vary greatly. In the north of Scotland and in Aberdeenshire, average highs float around 6°C and as low as 1°C. 

It is in the Deeside towns of Balmoral and Braemar where the mercury often plunges way below zero. Armagh in Northern Ireland has similarly cold conditions, as does Aberystwyth in Wales and Penrith in Cumbria.

Further south, though, the weather can sometimes remain mild throughout winter.

Highs of 9°C and 10°C can be enjoyed in Newquay and Exeter, while London’s relative microclimate means snow is rarely enjoyed for more than a day or two in the capital.

The UK experiences a White Christmas on average once every six years, and enjoys snowfall once every 3.9 days in December.

That’s effectively a flurry every week, which theoretically means there is a one-in-seven chance that snow falls on Christmas Day itself.

Will It Snow In London This Christmas?

London gets a lot of the attention when it snows, as the media paint a picture of a Dickensian capital covered in fluffy white stuff. 

Well, it might snow in London this winter but it probably won’t on Christmas Day.

The capital has been pushed out from 6/1 a year ago to 8/1 now. In fact, London had highs of 13C on December 25, 2023. No wonder the bookies reckon there’s a 10% chance of snow this time.

London endured a cold snap in mid-November this year as snow fell and the mercury dropped to -8C. In December 2022 some schools were closed for the day when snow blanketed the capital.

Yet we haven’t seen fat snowflakes fall on Buckingham Palace, Wembley or the Thames on Christmas Day since 1999. Not since the Old Wembley was knocking about has there been white stuff on the big day.