Yup, it’s only gone and happened. It has snowed in London! And not that sad flurry of snow that drifts down from the sky only to melt as soon as it touched the ground. Proper snow. It’s snow that sticks to the rooftops and can be compacted together into snowballs and rolled up into snowmen! London looks like a veritable festive wonderland as Christmas approaches on the horizon. (That’s next week, by the way. Yeah, we’re freaking out too!)
No doubt many a house across London was full of excited shrieks and shouts as the snow started falling from the sky. But to be honest, I wasn’t personally holding out much hope that it would still be there this morning. Well push me into a corner and call me a horrid old Scrooge, because the snow is still there folks, and what a lovely sight it is.
Now, pretty as the snow is, it’s important to be mindful. A yellow weather warning accompanied the snow overnight from Sunday, December 11, through to this morning, warning of the potentially disrupting nature of the snow and ice. Following on from the snowfall, and in conjunction with the week’s bitterly cold forecast, the Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for ice. Be aware of the potential for “icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths.” The yellow weather alert also warns of the danger of “some injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces.”
Effects of the snow in London
Now, the other downside of the snow is the (understandable) delays and issues with public transport across the capital. TfL has already warned of travel disruptions, and it’s important to check your journey’s status. Other providers have also had their services disrupted or delayed. We reckon it’s the perfect excuse for a snow day, for anyone lucky enough to be able to work remotely or flexibly.
Sadly there looks to be no more snow coming through the rest of the week, but the temperatures will remain very low. Sunday’s forecast high of 8° will seem like a veritable summer heatwave compared to this week’s average highs of around 2°, and lows that see temperatures dropping below 0!
In the lead-up to Christmas, the Met Office’s long-range forecast for the UK is looking a little more hopeful:
“A more unsettled regime is likely to develop later on in the period, bringing spells of rain and possibly snow into many parts of the UK, especially the south and the west with strong winds in places. Temperatures are likely to turn less cold through the remainder of this period.”
Could we truly be in for a White Christmas in London in 2022? Time can only tell. But we’ve sure got our fingers crossed!