The National Weather Service (NWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center have issued forecasts indicating that the Rocky Mountains and the Heartland have the best chance of experiencing a white Christmas in 2024. According to the eight-to-14-day forecast released on Dec. 16, temperatures are expected to be above average in most parts of the country from Dec. 24 to Dec. 30, along with a higher chance of precipitation due to increased atmospheric river activity.
NOAA has announced a 40 to 60 percent chance of heavy precipitation and high elevation snow in northern California and the Pacific Northwest on Dec. 24, 26, and 27. This includes areas like the Sierra Nevada mountains and western Oregon and Washington. Inland regions are also expected to see a 40 to 60 percent risk of heavy snow in high elevation areas of the Northern Rockies and Northern Great Basin from Christmas Day through Dec. 28. This includes parts of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Oregon.
The forecast also warns of possible flooding and intense winds that could impact holiday travel. While most of the nation is expected to experience higher-than-average precipitation during the holiday week, near-normal levels are anticipated for the East Coast, and below-average levels for portions of New England and the Southwest.
Historical data collected between 1991 and 2020 suggests that Idaho and the Rocky Mountains have a historically high chance of snow on Christmas Day. Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Telluride in Colorado, and Truckee in California have some of the highest probabilities of snow on Christmas. Northern portions of North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and states in the Northeast also show a greater than 90 percent chance of a white Christmas.
While major cities along the Pacific Coast and the southeast have near-zero to zero percent chance of a white Christmas, the Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts a white Christmas in the Heartland, the southern High Plains region, the Rocky Mountains, and Alaska. There is also a chance of a white Christmas in northern Maine, the Ohio Valley, the northern High Plains region, and the Intermountain region surrounding the Rockies, according to the Almanac.
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