Will it snow in Inverness?
Inverness, Scotland · checked 20:51 BST, Mon 19 Oct
This week
This site does not carry a snow forecast for UK cities. The Met Office forecast is the one to read: Met Office forecast for Inverness.
There was no Met Office snow or ice warning for Highlands & Eilean Siar when this site last read the warnings, at 20:49 Mon 19 Oct.
How cold winters get in Inverness
The Met Office station at Nairn, 27 km from the centre of Inverness, averaged 51.9 days of air frost a year in 1991–2020 (20 complete years).
December is the frostiest month there, with 12.8 frost days on average; December to February together average 34.3.
Average days of air frost by month, 1991–2020
| Month | Air frost |
|---|---|
| September | 0.2 days |
| October | 1.5 days |
| November | 5.4 days |
| December | 12.8 days |
| January | 11.1 days |
| February | 10.4 days |
| March | 6.6 days |
| April | 3.0 days |
| May | 0.9 days |
Months with none on average are left out.
Across the UK the Met Office says snow is more likely in January and February than in December. Days with snow lying averaged 3 in December, 3.3 in January, 3.4 in February and 1.9 in March in 1991–2020 (UK-wide figures, not for Inverness alone).
Will Inverness have a white Christmas?
The Met Office counts a white Christmas when at least one snowflake is observed falling during the 24 hours of December 25 by one of its observers or automatic stations — snow does not have to settle.
By that definition one station is enough: the Met Office recorded snow falling at 6% to 11% of its stations on each Christmas Day from 2020 to 2023, and at none in 2018 or 2019. Snow lying on the ground is much rarer; the last widespread white Christmas was in 2010, when snow lay at 83% of stations.
This page has no city-specific white Christmas odds for Inverness: the Met Office's open monthly station data does not record snow.
White Christmas in Inverness: the Met Office rule and record
Where these numbers come from
Frost: Met Office historic station data (Nairn, file nairndata.txt); contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; the 1991–2020 averages were calculated by this site from the monthly values. White Christmas definition and UK snow-lying days: Met Office. Warnings: the Met Office's regional RSS feeds.
This site does not issue warnings or predict snow. It repeats the official forecast and the long-run record.
Questions
Will it snow in Inverness this week?
This page does not carry a forecast for UK cities. The Met Office forecast for Inverness is linked above, and when this site last read the Met Office warnings (20:49 Mon 19 Oct) there was no snow or ice warning for Highlands & Eilean Siar.
Will it snow in Inverness this winter (2026–27)?
Nobody can say for a whole winter ahead. The Met Office says snow is more likely in January and February than in December; across the UK, days with snow lying averaged 3 in December, 3.3 in January, 3.4 in February and 1.9 in March in 1991–2020. The Met Office station at Nairn, 27 km from the centre of Inverness, averaged 51.9 days of air frost a year in 1991–2020 (20 complete years). December is the frostiest month there, with 12.8 frost days on average; December to February together average 34.3.
What counts as a white Christmas in Inverness?
The Met Office counts a white Christmas when at least one snowflake is observed falling during the 24 hours of December 25 by one of its observers or automatic stations — snow does not have to settle. By that definition one station is enough: the Met Office recorded snow falling at 6% to 11% of its stations on each Christmas Day from 2020 to 2023, and at none in 2018 or 2019. Snow lying on the ground is much rarer; the last widespread white Christmas was in 2010, when snow lay at 83% of stations.
Will it snow in other UK cities?
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