Are you dreaming of a white Christmas?

Well, experts at the Met Office say they can only give their verdict around five days before the big day but with the mild conditions we've been enjoying this week, it would certainly be a fitting end to a topsy-turvy December weather-wise.

Chester was in the grip of a cold snap just last week, which has given way to unseasonably warm weather this week.

Temperatures have even doubled the average for this time of year in some parts of the region, which forecasters say is partly down to colder conditions in North America strengthening the jet stream.

The last official white Christmas was in 2010, when snow blanketed much of the country.

A spokesperson for the Met Office said: "We can accurately forecast if snow is likely on any given Christmas Day up to five days beforehand.

"In terms of the statistical likelihood of snow based on climatology, we know that a snowflake has fallen somewhere in the UK on Christmas Day 38 times in the last 54 years, so we can probably expect more than half of all Christmas Days to be a 'white Christmas'.

Christmas Day 2016

Santa is coming in

"However the more Dickensian scenes of a widespread snow lying on the ground on Christmas Day is much rarer.

"There has only been a widespread covering of snow on the ground (where more than 40% of stations in the UK reported snow on the ground at 9am) four times in the last 51 years."

Do you think the weather's state of flux will end with snow? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @ChesterChron.