Odds on for a white Christmas as snow covers parts of Yorkshire again

The scene between Ingleton and Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales National Park after winter weather brought snow to high ground

But the Met Office said the snow was only likely to lie on higher ground in western and north-western areas, with snow in more southern areas expected to clear.

A spokesman for the forecaster said: “What we’re seeing is normal for this time of year. There have been flurries as far south as Exeter but that has been more wet slush and is likely to turn to rain.

“We are expecting showers in western and north-western areas today which could fall as snow on hills.”

Covered houses in the Peak District after winter weather brought snow to high ground

He said more snow might be seen on Friday in areas of Yorkshire, the Lake District, Wales and western parts of Scotland.

The Met Office has issued “yellow weather warnings” of ice for the Midlands, the north of England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Over the weekend the snow is likely to turn to rain across the country but there could still be a scattering of the white stuff on higher peaks.

The snowfall prompted bookmakers Coral to slash the odds of a white Christmas from 4-6 to 1-4.

John Hill, from Coral, said: “The latest batch of snow in some parts of the UK has prompted a huge gamble on there being a white Christmas this year.

“The odds now suggest that there will be snowfall on Christmas Day, with Aberdeen and Edinburgh the most likely cities to be hit.”

Coral is offering odds of 4-1 on snowfall in Aberdeen on December 25, with Edinburgh at 9-2 and Newcastle at 6-1.

Belfast and Manchester were given odds of 7-1 while Birmingham, Cardiff, London were predicted an 8-1 chance of snowfall at Christmas.

A Flybe plane travelling from Manchester to Amsterdam had to be diverted back to the airport on Friday morning after a lightning strike, as the North West was hit by storms.

An airline spokeswoman said: “Flybe can confirm that the aircraft operating the above flight returned from airborne this morning as a precautionary measure following a lightning strike.

“The aircraft landed safely without further incident and all 56 passengers disembarked as normal.”

The passengers were moved on to another plane, which was set to depart later on Friday morning.

The spokeswoman added: “The incidence of lightning is a relatively common in-flight weather occurrence throughout the world.

“As a result, certification demands all aircraft must be rigorously tested and conductive airframes proven to be able to withstand the harshest weather conditions and that no on-board technical equipment or apparatus - that includes fuel tanks - are at risk of damage in any way from any such lightning activity.

“The safety of its passengers and crew is the airline’s number one priority and Flybe would like to apologise to passengers for any inconvenience experienced from the disruption to their travel.”

Weather warnings of wind and rain on Sunday have been issued for the South of England.

The Met Office issued yellow weather warnings and said areas including Sussex and Kent could see winds of 45mph-55mph, with gusts of up to 65mph possible in south coastal locations.

The forecaster also said 0.8in-1.2in (20mm-30mm) of rain could fall in a six to 12-hour period in those areas on Sunday.