Dreaming of a White Christmas in Finsbury Park

The prospect of a White Christmas in Finsbury Park looked more likely with every falling snowflake, as the area enjoyed a heavy snowshower in the early evening.

Rush-hour traffic slowed in the brief blizzard as visibility dropped and the roads became slippery. Away from the commuters, younger residents on school holidays enjoyed themselves out in the snowy streets.

Bookmakers have cut their odds on a White Christmas in London in recent days, with William Hill offering 11 to 8 and Ladbrokes 2 to 1, its shortest odds in 30 years.

Weather forecasters have suggested the weather will remain cold over the next few days, although there is a possibillity of milder air pushing in from the West bringing rain rather than snow on the 25th.

The definition for betting purposes in the UK is not a covering of snow on the ground, but rather snow falling on the 24 hours of December 25th. For a White Christmas to be declared, one single snowflake must fall onto the roof of the London Weather Centre, where continuous observations are taken.

The last official White Christmas in the UK was in 2004, when snow was widespread

across Northen Ireland, Scotland, the Midlands, north-east

and south-west England.