Article posted by North Carolina Gazette Graphic by NOAA
Charlotte,NC--For those of you dreaming of a white Christmas, this map depicts
which places have the best chance of being a winter wonderland according
to weather history. The “Historical Probability of a White Christmas
Map” shows the climatological probability of at least 1 inch of snow
being on the ground on December 25 in the lower 48 states. On the map,
dark gray shows places where the probability is less than 10 percent,
while white shows probabilities greater than 90 percent.
Where does history say you should be for the best chance of
seeing a white Christmas? Idaho, Minnesota, Maine, Upstate New York, the
Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and, of course,
the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada Mountains all have a high probability
of seeing a white Christmas. And, Aspen, Colorado, is just one of about a
dozen locations in the Northwest boasting a 100% historical probability
of seeing a white Christmas.
This map is based on the 1981–2010 Climate Normals, which are the latest three-decade averages of several climatological measurements. This dataset contains daily and monthly Normals of temperature, precipitation, snowfall, heating and cooling degree days, frost/freeze dates, and growing degree days calculated from observations at approximately 9,800 stations operated by NOAA’s National Weather Service. You can find the Climate Normals for locations near you by using NCDC’s interactive map or search tool.
While the map shows the climatological probability of snow on December 25, the actual conditions this year may vary widely from these probabilities because the weather patterns present will determine if there is snow on the ground or if snow will fall on Christmas Day. These probabilities are useful as a guide only to show where snow on the ground is more likely. For prediction of your actual weather conditions, check out your local forecast at Weather.gov within seven days of Christmas.
If you would like to keep track of the snowfall across the United States on a daily basis, see the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center’s National Snow Analyses.
This map is based on the 1981–2010 Climate Normals, which are the latest three-decade averages of several climatological measurements. This dataset contains daily and monthly Normals of temperature, precipitation, snowfall, heating and cooling degree days, frost/freeze dates, and growing degree days calculated from observations at approximately 9,800 stations operated by NOAA’s National Weather Service. You can find the Climate Normals for locations near you by using NCDC’s interactive map or search tool.
While the map shows the climatological probability of snow on December 25, the actual conditions this year may vary widely from these probabilities because the weather patterns present will determine if there is snow on the ground or if snow will fall on Christmas Day. These probabilities are useful as a guide only to show where snow on the ground is more likely. For prediction of your actual weather conditions, check out your local forecast at Weather.gov within seven days of Christmas.
If you would like to keep track of the snowfall across the United States on a daily basis, see the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center’s National Snow Analyses.
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