Hopes of a snowy Christmas were high among the general public following the recent cold snap and the ensuing snowfall.

In fact, major bookmakers were offering odds a low as 3/1 for a white Christmas, not bad as we’ve only had nine days where snow was visible on the ground on Christmas Day over the last 51 years.

However Met Éireann has all but ruled out hopes of snow on 25 December by saying there is “some kind of change” on the way. This will take the form of a fresh mobile Atlantic pattern, with weather turning unsettled and rain. In fact, forecasters have predicted temperatures to be as high as 9°C on Christmas Day, which, compared to other years, is quite tropical.

Snowmen

While this news will come as a disappointment to anybody who hoped to build snowmen and throw snowballs before falling asleep on the couch, it is certainly welcomed by farmers.

Memories of the hardship they endured in 2010, the last time Ireland experienced a white Christmas, are still fresh.

Instead of being able to enjoy the day with their family, farmers were forced to spend long hours using buckets to give water to stock until the pipes defrosted.

On one farm, the milk line from the parlour to the bulk tank froze solid. It had to be taken apart by hand and defrosted using hot water and blow torches before milking could begin, delaying the poor farmer’s Christmas dinner by three hours.

Nuisance

Apart from being a source of extra, unwanted work for farmers, snow is a nuisance as it can make roads impassable, causes public transport operators to go into meltdown (no pun intended) and leads to treacherous walking conditions.

So, with reports of a mild Christmas on the horizon, farmers can look forward to a festive period with minimal disruption.

The rest of population should be grateful that they will be free to visit relatives or go outside without having to wear seven jumpers. And after all that, if you still fancy a bit of snow, there will be no shortage of it on the ski slopes of Europe throughout January.

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