Remember remember the fifth of Snow-vember: Manchester favourite for Bonfire Night snowfall

• Manchester 8-1 favourite for Bonfire Night snowfall. Newcastle 10-1, Leeds 12-1, Birmingham 12-1.
• Four-day arctic plume set to batter the UK.
• Snow flurries expected in parts of Northern England and Scotland by the weekend.

With forecasters predicting significant snowfall over higher ground by the end of the week, William Hill today made Manchester 8-1 favourite for Bonfire Night snowfall.

Forecasters have been warning of snow flurries and an impending arctic plume in November for the last few weeks, but as the sky lights up with colourful fireworks on Saturday and Sunday, we could now see significant snowfall at higher levels and an early taste of wintry conditions in parts of Northern England and Scotland.

Newcastle’s Hazlerigg Weather Station is a 10-1 chance, while Leeds Bradford and Birmingham Airports are 12-1. London Heathrow and Cardiff Airports are both 16-1.

The MET Office had hinted at snowfall between November 15 and November 29, but according to meteostat.net temperatures are expected to plummet rapidly in the coming weeks, beginning with a four-day arctic blast. As we approach December, the UK bookmaker has subsequently shortened its odds of a white Christmas at 11 major airports around the UK.

Birmingham is currently 7-2 favourite for snowfall on the 24-hour period of December 25. Among other early contenders for festive flurries are the northerly duo of Edinburgh and Newcastle (both 4-1) and Northern Irish capital Belfast is 9-2.

Leeds Bradford Airport is more than 700ft above sea level and holds the record for being the highest airport in the UK. It is therefore surprising to see it appear alongside the likes of London and Dublin at 6-1.

The popular pastime of betting on a white Christmas was in fact instituted by William Hill, and traditionally required a single snowflake to fall on the MET Office operations centre in London.

Nowadays, and with that building long since sold – the national weather service now based in Devon, all that is needed to declare a white Christmas is the observation of a single snowflake falling in the 24 hours of December 25, at one of 10 major UK airports.

The UK has not seen snow on the ground on Christmas Day since 2015 when it was observed at a tenth of weather stations. Those 2015 flurries came five years after widespread snow and the coldest December for a century in 2010.

The last widespread white Christmas (2010) saw snow on the ground at 83% of weather stations (the highest amount ever recorded), while snow or sleet fell at 19% of stations.

Technically though, 2017 was the last true white Christmas in the UK – with 11 percent of weather stations recording snow falling, but none recorded any on the ground.

Odds correct at time of publishing/Settled by Data from meteostat.net