For most Americans dreaming of a white Christmas, this year’s prospects aren’t good.
Although parts of the Rockies and Midwest already have snow or could get a fresh dusting by Monday, other parts of the country that are normally coated in white this time of year are still sporting their drab late-fall look.
"Some people will get their dream, their wish, and get a white Christmas right at the last minute," said Judah Cohen, the director of seasonal forecasting at Verisk Atmospheric and Environmental Research. "But most of the country will have a brown Christmas."
Among the areas more accustomed to snowy Decembers is the Northeast, where a powerful storm blew in this week and dumped heavy rain on the region’s ski areas, wreaking havoc on the snowpack.
"It didn’t wash out our trails. But it was crazy rain," said Tom Day, the general manager of Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford, New Hampshire.
He hiked the ski area Monday, when it was closed, as 8.8 centimeters of warm rain fell and the wind howled.
"That’s a four-letter word, rain, in our business," Day said.
The snow cover across the U.S. is at near-record lows for this time of year, said Cohen, who doesn’t expect much change by Christmas Day.
"There is a storm that is supposed to come out of the Rockies and head toward Canada, so it looks like some fresh snow in the western Plains, from Kansas to North Dakota," he said, adding that snow could fall as far west as Denver and as far east as Minnesota.
The National Weather Service also doesn’t foresee a white Christmas for much of the country. But on the bright side, "At least the weather is favorable for most people who have plans to travel this year," the service wrote in its holiday forecast.
So where should snow lovers turn?
"The best chance for a white Christmas by far is in Alaska," the service wrote. "Anchorage’s record snow depth on Christmas Day is 30 inches (76 centimeters), which was set back in 1994, and this year’s snow depth could be close to the record."
