When was the last time London had snow on the ground on Christmas Day before this year? (living in)

[mrconfusion87]

I heard from friends living in London that there is snow on the ground for Christmas Day (the amount of snow on the ground on Xmas Day is the way North Americans determine whether it's a White Christmas or not) even though there has been none falling (the UK's way of determining what's a White Christmas or not).

So my question is, when was the last time London had a North American-style White Christmas with snow on the ground on the said day before this year's Xmas? Anyone know? Thanks...

[rjb111]

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[moonman13]

Erm, last year I think? Can't remember exactly but there was a lot of snow about.

[B1987]

I think it was in 1970.

[Fear&Whiskey]

1993 was a white Christmas I'm certain, alot of snow around though most of it probably arrived on Boxing/St. Stephen's Day if memory serves me correct. In the early-mid 80's there was one or two white Christmases though it's impossible to say as I was quite young then and offhand memory can often deceive the reality.

I don't think it's that shocking for London to be very cold in December but usually the actual snow itself holds off until January. We get snow virtually every year, can't remember too many years without it though we did have some very mild winters in the 00's that made some forecasters predict that white Christmases and freezing temperatures at winter were a thing of the past.

Historically, London has long been associated with snow at Christmas and many novelists and writers have documented London in snowfall, most famously Charles Dickens in 'A Christmas Carol' of course. So whether a white Christmas in London is a North American style homage or whether
it's just London reverting to type I don't know, but there probably is a little more American influence on Christmas over here these days, marketing wise especially though I'm sure that Dickens and other Victorian fables of old have shaped certain American Christmas traditions too.

I know snow fell on New Year's Eve at exactly midnight last Christmas as I was outside at the time in central London but I can't remember whether there was snow on the ground Christmas Day. Officially there have been many white Christmases that have been classified as such because of a flurry of light snow on Christmas Day around the vicinity of the metro weather centre in London but if you were to classify a white Christmas as snow on the ground then up until the mid-90's these occasions weren't that unlikely or rare and I'm sure there have been one or two snce though accurate, pin point memory evades me somewhat.

[ben86]

1981 was the last time there was as widespread a snow-covered Christmas in England as this year, but whether or not London had any I don't know. The idea of a London White Christmas largely comes from the Victorian era and Charles Dickens novels. I read somewhere that 11 Christmases in the first 20 years of his life had snow in London at or around Christmas time.

[B1987]

Then only 6 occurrences throughout the 20th century.

[Hengist]

River Thames frost fairs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And they think we invented global warming.