2018’s white Christmas restricted to the Northeast, Upper Midwest and mountainous West
While many across the country will be hoping for a white Christmas this year, the areas expected to have some white on the ground will be restricted to the northern tier of the country, and in the higher elevations of the West.
The standard for a white Christmas is an inch of snow on the ground during the morning, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
With a lack of arctic air across much of the country this December, the likelihood of a white Christmas really comes down to the storm system on Christmas Eve.
This is especially true for the Northeast, where many places like Boston and Pittsburgh have been as much as 8 degrees Fahrenheit above normal for the second half of the month.
“Snow showers and even a few heavier squalls will continue downwind of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario on Monday and Monday evening,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Steve Travis.
This is the region most likely to have several inches of snow, helping to ensure a white Christmas in parts of western and central New York.
Download the free AccuWeather app to see how much snow is expected for your area.
For the rest of the Northeast, the determination of if this year’s Christmas will have a blanket of snow is determined by how quickly the snow melts before Tuesday morning.
Places across Pennsylvania, the Hudson Valley and southern New England are expected to have high temperatures in the upper 30s or lower 40s for a time on Monday. Temperatures this high could melt the little bit of snow accumulated on the ground from Sunday night and early Monday, or bring the amount of snow below an inch.
The spine of the Appalachian Mountains from western Pennsylvania to North Carolina had a little snow on the ground as of Sunday. The light snow accumulation ahead of Christmas may be enough to combat any warmer air and melting on Christmas Eve.
As of Sunday, a few inches of snow continued to blanket the ground across eastern South Dakota, Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and northern parts of the Lower Peninsula.
With the fresh coating of snow in these areas over the weekend, plus a reinforcing shot of cold air, most of this snow is expected to stick around into Christmas Day.
With no snow on the ground across Nebraska and through the central Plains, and mild temperatures expected to continue through the holiday, a white Christmas is not expected across the rest of the Plains.
The higher elevations of the West, from Colorado to Washington and California, boast the best chances for a white Christmas.
“Most of the snow will already be on the ground prior to Christmas Day in the West, with just a few exceptions,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
A moderate snow depth was already in place as of Sunday across the Rockies from western Colorado to Idaho and western Montana, as well as in the Sierras and across the Cascades of Oregon and Washington.
“A storm system will dive southward on Christmas Eve afternoon and night, spreading rain and snow from southern Oregon and Northern California into Nevada,” said Sosnowski.
A push of cold air following the storm is likely to keep any accumulations around into Christmas Day.
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