Thousands of families head to the 'home' of Santa every year but unusually high temperatures mean that for the first time in living memory there is currently a complete lack of snow
BRITS visiting Lapland for a Christmas getaway face heartbreak as there’s no snow.
None has fallen on Santa’s Finnish “home” in an unprecedented run-up to the festive season.
More than 100,000 people are due to fly out but holiday-weather.com expects no snow until at least December 14.
Operator Transun has cancelled flights this week and offered alternative dates.
David Walker said his niece was banned from posting no-snow snaps from the santa village she works at.
A travel source said: “It’s a crisis. No snow by now is pretty much unheard of and, without it, it’s unsafe to run huskies, snowmobiles or reindeer sleds. Some excursions depend on the country’s lakes freezing over. They haven’t.
"Rovaniemi, which is the capital of Lapland and is used by the big UK firms like TUI and Thomas Cook, has no snow on the ground whatsoever right now, just mud and sand.
"Following the record-breaking heat of the summer, it has been an unseasonably mild autumn in Lapland and the snow has simply not fallen yet.
"Whilst conventional weather forecasts may not look promising, with no imminent snow currently expected, the weather is unpredictable in Lapland and can change suddenly, so we remain hopeful."
One dad, who paid £1,500 for a trip with Thomas Cook early next month, said: "We are just praying for snow.
"We haven't told the children yet that it might not quite be what they were expecting. They'll be so disappointed if there's no snow and they can't have a husky ride or build a snowman. They've been looking forward to this for months.
"We keep checking the forecast and constantly looking on the Rovaniemi webcam, but there is just no sign of snow whatsoever. It's quite cold, but dry. The whole thing is so dispiriting. Lapland is the one place we thought snow would be guaranteed.
"All we can do is keep everything crossed, but it isn't looking good."
The UK has already seen some snow with forecasters predicting more this week.
