NI weather: First white Christmas recorded since 2017

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Lough FeaImage source, Joseph Cullen
Image caption,

Sleet was recorded at Lough Fea on Christmas Day

A white Christmas has been officially declared for Northern Ireland after sleet fell in counties Londonderry and Armagh.

The weather station at Lough Fea recorded the wintry weather at about 17:00 GMT on Christmas Day, according to the Met Office.

Glenanne in County Armagh later recorded heavy sleet at about 19:00.

The last official white Christmas recording was at Lough Navar Forest, County Fermanagh, in 2017.

Just a single flake of sleet or snow has to be recorded at least one of the official Met Office sites in order for a white Christmas to be declared.

Wintry weather was also witnessed in other areas.

The Met Office stations which are used for judging a white Christmas are:

  • Castlederg, County Tyrone

  • Thomastown, County Fermanagh

  • Magilligan, County Londonderry

  • Lough Fea, County Londonderry

  • Glenanne, County Armagh

  • Belfast International, County Antrim

  • Portglenone, County Antrim

  • Ballypatrick Forest, County Antrim

In the Republic of Ireland, there was no official white Christmas despite video and photos of snow, external on social media from the public.

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The country's weather service, Met Éireann, uses the weather station at Dublin Airport as the official site to record sleet or snow and declare a white Christmas.

This station did not record any on 25 December, but a Met Éireann station at Casement in Dublin did record sleet.