Flashback to 2010: Snowy Shropshire in a rare white Christmas

We rewind to a rare white Christmas back in 2010.

Published Dec 25, 2020

Last updated Dec 25, 2020

A picture postcard scene in Ironbridge on December 21, 2010.

Christmas cards feature snow. All those Christmas adverts on the telly feature snow. And any self-respecting Christmas movie will be set amid snowy scenes.

But here's the thing... it's a bit of a big fib. Because having snow at Christmas is not that common, and if all the theories of global warming are proven right will become so rare that for our grandchildren a white Christmas will be something of story books and not of reality.

So let's have a wallow in the snow and turn back the clock 10 years to December 2010 when not only was there lots of snow about, but it was the last widespread white Christmas in the UK.

For the facts, we turn to the Met Office: "There has only been a widespread covering of snow on the ground (where more than 40 per cent of stations in the UK reported snow on the ground at 9am) four times since 1960 – in 1981, 1995, 2009 and 2010.

It's snow use for these volunteers at Telford United's ground as they battle in vain to salvage a pre-Christmas tie against Fleetwood – although they cleared much of the pitch, some players and team manager Andy Sinton got stuck in the snow and the tie was called off.

"The last widespread white Christmas in the UK was in 2010. It was extremely unusual, as not only was there snow on the ground at 83 per cent of stations (the highest amount ever recorded) but snow or sleet also fell at 19 per cent of stations.