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White Christmas Outlook: Snowy for Some Areas, But Disappointment for Others
December 25, 2024 at 04:04 AM EST
By WeatherBug Meteorologist, Alyssa Robinette
Christmas is here! The good news is that a good chunk of people in the Intermountain West and Northern Tier will see snow as they wake up to open presents. For the southern half though, it is going to take a 34th Street-style miracle to see snowflakes.
The National Weather Service defines a “White Christmas” as having an inch or more of snow on the ground on Christmas morning.
Light to moderate snow fell over the northern Appalachians and the rest of the interior Northeast Christmas Eve morning. There was also some light freezing rain that mixed in at times for the interior Northeast. Warmer temperatures lead to a rain/snow mix for the Lower Great Lakes and southern portions of the Northeast, which is not conducive for accumulating snow.
Snow amounts of 2 to 6 inches fell across northern New York into southern and central areas of Vermont and New Hampshire as well as over western Maine. Higher snow amounts of 6 to 10 inches were found over central and eastern Maine on Tuesday. A fresh coating to 2 inches occurred across northeastern Maryland, southeastern Pennsylvania, and parts of New Jersey.
A White Christmas will be hit-or-miss for eastern Montana, northeastern South Dakota and the southern parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan along with northern Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey and southern parts of the Northeast. While there could be some snow on the ground for the rest of the north-central U.S., Upper Midwest into the Ohio Valley and northern Mid-Atlantic, amounts will likely remain short of the 1-inch criteria.
Although chilly weather is keeping the snow intact from the Ohio Valley to the northern Mid-Atlantic, the beginnings of a warm spell from Tuesday allowed for the snow to quickly melt away, leaving many disappointed this Christmas morning.
On the opposite side of the country, the Northwest, Great Basin and northern half of the Rockies saw a parade of weather systems leading up to today. These fast-moving systems produced rain in the lower elevations, a rain/snow mix for the middle elevations, and snow for the mountains and higher elevations.
Santa will report a White Christmas for the tallest peaks of the Mountain West. This includes the Cascades, Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains in Idaho, western Montana, Wyoming and western Colorado. Far northern Washington State, parts of eastern Oregon, central Utah and southwestern Wyoming could all have chances at a White Christmas.
As for the rest of the country, you may not be getting a White Christmas but that does not make it any less of a wonderful time to get together with friends and family and celebrate the holiday.
From all of us at WeatherBug, Happy Holidays!
The National Weather Service defines a “White Christmas” as having an inch or more of snow on the ground on Christmas morning.
Light to moderate snow fell over the northern Appalachians and the rest of the interior Northeast Christmas Eve morning. There was also some light freezing rain that mixed in at times for the interior Northeast. Warmer temperatures lead to a rain/snow mix for the Lower Great Lakes and southern portions of the Northeast, which is not conducive for accumulating snow.
Snow amounts of 2 to 6 inches fell across northern New York into southern and central areas of Vermont and New Hampshire as well as over western Maine. Higher snow amounts of 6 to 10 inches were found over central and eastern Maine on Tuesday. A fresh coating to 2 inches occurred across northeastern Maryland, southeastern Pennsylvania, and parts of New Jersey.
A White Christmas will be hit-or-miss for eastern Montana, northeastern South Dakota and the southern parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan along with northern Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey and southern parts of the Northeast. While there could be some snow on the ground for the rest of the north-central U.S., Upper Midwest into the Ohio Valley and northern Mid-Atlantic, amounts will likely remain short of the 1-inch criteria.
Although chilly weather is keeping the snow intact from the Ohio Valley to the northern Mid-Atlantic, the beginnings of a warm spell from Tuesday allowed for the snow to quickly melt away, leaving many disappointed this Christmas morning.
On the opposite side of the country, the Northwest, Great Basin and northern half of the Rockies saw a parade of weather systems leading up to today. These fast-moving systems produced rain in the lower elevations, a rain/snow mix for the middle elevations, and snow for the mountains and higher elevations.
Santa will report a White Christmas for the tallest peaks of the Mountain West. This includes the Cascades, Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains in Idaho, western Montana, Wyoming and western Colorado. Far northern Washington State, parts of eastern Oregon, central Utah and southwestern Wyoming could all have chances at a White Christmas.
As for the rest of the country, you may not be getting a White Christmas but that does not make it any less of a wonderful time to get together with friends and family and celebrate the holiday.
From all of us at WeatherBug, Happy Holidays!