White Christmas forecast for parts of Scotland

It could beryllium a achromatic Christmas for galore Scots aft a wintertime upwind informing was issued.

The Met Office yellowish alert for snowfall and crystal is from 21:00 connected Christmas Day until 18:00 connected Boxing Day.

Up to 10cm (4in) of snowfall is expected connected higher ground, with blustery snowfall showers forecast.

The informing covers Aberdeenshire, Moray, Perth and Kinross, Stirling, Argyll and Bute, West Dunbartonshire and the Highlands.

Last twelvemonth was declared a achromatic Christmas aft snowfall fell successful Braemar and Aboyne successful Aberdeenshire, Strathallan successful Perthshire and crossed Shetland.

The twelvemonth earlier was besides technically a achromatic Christmas, with 6% of upwind stations reporting immoderate snowfall falling successful 2020 but successful astir places it did not prevarication connected the ground.

On Friday, the Met Office said: "Strengthening west-northwesterly winds volition bring progressively predominant wintry showers to the westbound of Scotland done Sunday nighttime and into Monday morning.

"These whitethorn autumn arsenic snowfall to debased levels for a clip wherever impermanent accumulations of 1-3cm are possible, with 5-10cm of snowfall implicit the hills. Icy surfaces volition beryllium an further hazard.

"Snow volition go progressively confined to higher crushed done Monday morning, with a further 10cm oregon truthful imaginable by the extremity of the day.

"Strong to gale unit winds bring the hazard of drifting and blizzards for upland areas, with a tiny hazard of isolated powerfulness outages arsenic the snowfall and beardown upwind affects powerfulness lines."

The upwind work said roadworthy and obstruction journeys could beryllium affected arsenic it warned of icy patches forming connected roads, pavements and rhythm paths.

In caller times, astir fractional of Christmas Days person seen immoderate snowfall recorded determination successful the UK but the wide coverings evoked by Dickensian Christmas scenes are present a uncommon event.

There has lone been a wide covering - wherever much than 40% of upwind stations successful the UK reported snowfall connected the crushed astatine 09:00 - 4 times since 1960, successful 1981, 1995, 2009 and 2010, according to the Met Office.