First snow of the year hits Milton Keynes - but blink and you missed it!
The first snow of the year fell upon Milton Keynes this morning – but it was all over in minutes.
After a chilly night, during which temperatures plummeted to below zero, the snowflakes started between 7am and 8am this morning (Wednesday November 19) this morning over much of the city.
But though the flakes were large and heavy, they did not settle – and they very quickly disappeared.
"One minute I was looking out of my window at a real Christmas snow scene and then shortly afterwards it had all gone,” said one resident.
No more snow is predicted locally for the rest of this week although temperatures will remain chilly, hitting below zero at times.
On Monday, a cold health alert was issued for the whole of the South East and runs until 8am on Saturday.
A Met Office spokesperson said: “Cold Arctic air from the north is firmly in charge of the UK’s weather, bringing the first notable cold snap of this autumn and giving an early taste of winter weather.
“As a result, winter hazards are likely through the next few days, with snow and ice a particular hazard, and the coldest conditions likely on Wednesday and Thursday.
“Whilst not all places will see lying snow, where showers are most frequent, accumulations of 2-5cm will be possible. On higher ground in Scotland, 15-20cm could accumulate and potentially as much as 15-25cm over the North York Moors and Yorkshire Wolds.”
Milton Keynes City Council has gritters on stand-by to keep our roads safe. The teams were out last night (Tuesday November 18) from 9pm, gritting grid roads, bus routes and main access roads to prepare for the drop in temperature.
Meanwhile, the question of whether of not we will see a white Christmas here in MK remains unanswered.
The Met Office spokesperson said: “We can accurately forecast if snow is likely on any given Christmas Day up to five days beforehand. Since 1960, around half of the years have seen at least 5% of the network record snow falling on Christmas Day. This means we can probably expect more than half of all Christmas Days to be a 'white Christmas'.”