Storm Barra prompts bookmakers to slash odds on a White Christmas in Manchester

Storm Barra arrived in the UK this week, and brought blistering weather and further temperature drops.

Some northern areas even had yellow snow warnings in place from the Met Office, one of those places being Manchester.

With the potential of snow in our region, one question comes to everyone’s mind...

Will we see a White Christmas in Manchester?

Bookmaker William Hill reports ‘healthy interest’ in the now traditional festive flurry flutter.

Temperatures are set to continue to drop, and with the forecast of heavy snow across parts of the UK, bookmarkers have seen a drop in odds on whether we will see a White Christmas this year.

Manchester currently has the odds of 5/1 for a White Christmas.

Both Glasgow and Edinburgh have been backed into 3-1 favourites to see picturesque snowy scenes this Christmas on William Hill.

When is it declared an official White Christmas?

Betting on whether we would see a White Christmas has always been popular.

Traditionally declaring a White Christmas required a single snowflake to fall on the Met Office operations centre in London.

However, since the building has been sold, the parameters on which a White Christmas is classed have changed in recent years.

Now all that is needed to declare a White Christmas is the observation of a single snowflake falling in the 24 hours of 25 December, at one of 13 major UK airports.

William Hill spokesperson Rupert Adams said: “We continue to monitor this market very closely indeed, having seen a huge spike in interest in light of recent snow on the ground, and more on the way.”

“It never ceases to amaze us how popular this particular festive flutter has become.”

“With the arrival of this latest icy blast, the wider narrative looks as though it could well play out as is anticipated, meaning an increased likelihood of a festive sprinkling on 25 December.”