White Christmas is extremely likely!

Dreaming of a white Christmas may not be necessary this year - forecasters have revealed it is a real possibility.

The PA Weather Centre's long-term forecast, which runs until Christmas Eve, shows that snow is "extremely likely".

Forecasters say is it too early to make accurate predictions, but computer simulations show snow is set for London and the South on Christmas Eve.

For it to qualify as a white Christmas, a single snowflake must be spotted from the London Weather Centre. Only 10 white Christmases have occurred in the past 100 years.

PA forecaster Neil Talboys said: "The official definition of a white Christmas is pretty bizarre. It's actually possible for part of London to be under 20 feet of snow and it still not to be deemed a white Christmas.

Britain's obsession with a white Christmas began in 1550, when Britain was in the grip of a mini "ice age", which lasted until 1850. A frozen Thames was a common sight, and a regular fair was held on the river every year until 1813.

This year has already set dozens of new weather records and, with three weeks of temperatures still to be registered, 2003 looks set to be the hottest year in Britain for 350 years.

It also produced Britain's hottest-ever day on 10 August, when the thermometer registered 38.5C (101.3F) at Faversham, Kent.