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A White Christmas, with snow on the ground and snowflakes falling slowly to the sound of the fire while the kids open presents, is a nice image. For many, it will also be a distant dream, as snowfall isn’t going to be very widespread in the US on December 25. Read on to see your likelihood of waking up to more than an inch of snow on the ground on Christmas morning.
If you live in the Midwest, the Southeast or along the West Coast, you’re not likely to see much snow. As far north as Virginia, the Southeast and East Coast won’t have a snowflake in sight on Christmas. Aside from the northernmost parts of New England, even the Northeast won’t be seeing very much snow. New York, Boston and Pittsburgh are likely to not have much snow on the ground.
Oddly, much of the Midwest won’t have any snowfall either, as far West as Kansas City. As the Plains give way to the Rockies, however, snowfall should be expected. High elevations throughout the Rockies can expect to see a White Christmas, including Denver, Cheyenne, Billings and Salt Lake City. Even into parts of New Mexico and Arizona, snow can be expected in the northern regions at higher altitudes.
In the grand scheme of things, the storybook ideal of snow on the ground on Christmas day is a bit of a statistical unlikelihood. Only in the northernmost parts of New England and near the border to Canada is a White Christmas close to a 50% likelihood, and parts of the Rockies out West have better chances than most of the country, too.
Recent years have seen some of the least expansive snow cover on Christmas in recorded history in the US. 2018 had only 24% of the lower 48 states experiencing snowy conditions. This trend is likely to continue as mild Decembers and low snowfall totals in the US continue to be the norm. If you’re dreaming of a White Christmas, you’ll need to either move to a Northern, mountainous locale, or keep on dreaming.
