WILL snow be on the cards in Dorset this Christmas?

We asked our local weather experts if we’ll be seeing a white Christmas and if there’s any hint of any kind of colder weather on the horizon.

Here’s what they said.

DorsetSnow said: “Many believed it could be a front-loaded winter with La Niña being forecasted, but it doesn’t seem to be the case. The polar vortex is close to record strength which means any chance of an SSW in the next month or so looks near to impossible. An SSW is what we have come to rely on for beast from the east set ups in recent years.

Bournemouth Echo:

“A +NAO is also becoming established meaning the pressure differences between Azores and Greenland/Artic are very large. This means a zonal outlook is much more likely, so mild, wet westerly winds are likely.

“There was some slightly hope earlier this week that high pressure might grow over Scandinavia (increases risk of easterly winds), but again this now looks unlikely. Conclusion is that a mild rest of November/early December looks likely.”

He added: “Christmas is slightly too far off at this range. Only positive is that the jet stream seems to be positioned to the north and meandering quite a bit. This means we could be spared of many storms over the coming weeks.”

Bournemouth Echo:

Bournemouth & Poole Weather said: “Lots of talk about colder conditions for the end of the month however I see little actual evidence of that happening yet. As for Christmas, at this range who knows but given it’s 2020 anything could happen.”

WessexWeather said some weather models had been hinting at a cold easterly spell next week but the forecaster aid he was “sceptical” about these as they usually tail off the nearer the time or occur east of the UK.

Bournemouth Echo:

In relation to Christmas, he said: “Way too early to forecast Christmas but I’ve seen early estimates of a white Christmas somewhere in the UK of 25%, which is decent odds this early on. I’m plumping for a mild, Atlantic-driven winter overall.”

According to the Met Office, we’re more likely to see snow between January and March than in December.

Snow or sleet falls an average 3.9 days in December, compared to 5.3 days in January, 5.6 days in February and 4.2 days in March.

The last widespread white Christmas in the UK was in 2010.