EVENING News weatherman Paul Damari is betting that will not be a white Christmas in Worcester this year.

"There might be some snow in some parts of the north-east, but there isn't going to be any here on Christmas Day," he said.

"Basically the weather is going to be varied, as I said months ago."

Mr Damari forecasts that until the weekend it will be wet and windy. There will be the odd shower over the weekend but it will be bright and sunny, with some frost first thing in the morning and in the early evening.

"It should be a lovely weekend for the last-minute shoppers," he said.

"Christmas Eve will be mild with temperatures reaching 10C or 11C during the day.

"Christmas Day and Boxing Day should stay bright and sunny, with frost in the evening and first thing in the morning. But we aren't expecting snow in the area."

Labrokes are laying odds of 3-1 that it will snow in London on Christmas Day and online bookies Paddy Power are offering odds of 5-2 for a white Christmas in London and 11 to 4 for Cardiff.

William Hill are offering odds of 5-2 for London, 11-4 for Glasgow and Manchester Airport and 3-1 for Cardiff.

It's declared a white Christmas if a measurable amount of snow falls on specific areas, such as the roof of the Meteorological Office in London or Cardiff Weather Centre.

Last year, Worcester narrowly missed out on a white Christmas, people waking up to a blanket of snow on Thursday, December 27.

Two-a-half inches fell in most of the county, with up to six inches on the Malvern Hills, as well as in parts of Herefordshire, north Bromsgrove, and the Cotswolds.