GILFORD.– For many parts of the United States, this Christmas will have no snow at all, but plenty of rain, meteorologists say.
While parts of the West and North-Central have already had snow or will get some by Monday, other parts of the country that are usually blanketed in white this time of year are still sporting an autumnal gray.
“There are some people who will get their wish come true and have a white Christmas at the last minute,” said Judah Cohen, director of meteorology at Verisk Atmospheric and Environmental Research. “But most of the country will have a brown Christmas.”
Among the regions most accustomed to having snow in December is the northeast of the country, where a powerful storm hit this week and dumped heavy rain on ski resorts, ruining the slopes.
“It didn’t wipe out all the trails, but it rained a lot,” said Tom Day, general manager of Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford, New Hampshire.
Day went hiking at the ski resort on Monday, when it was closed, 3.5 inches (8.8 centimeters) of rain was falling and strong winds were blowing.
“In our business the word rain is like a swear word,” he said.
Snow across most of the United States is at near-record lows for this time of year, Cohen said, adding that he doesn’t think that will change before Christmas.
“There’s supposed to be a storm from the Rocky Mountains to Canada, so it looks like there will be snow in the western plains, from Kansas to North Dakota,” he said, adding that there could be snow in the west in Denver and in the east in Minnesota.
The National Weather Service also does not predict snow for Christmas in much of the country. But looking at the positive side, “at least it is favorable weather for the people who will be traveling,” that agency wrote in its forecast for the holiday.
So where should snow fans go?
“By far the best chance for a white Christmas is Alaska,” the agency said.
“The record snowfall in Anchorage for a Christmas is 30 inches (76 centimeters), recorded in 1994, and this year’s snow accumulation could approach the record.”
Part of the reason there is so little snow is global warming, Cohen said, although he noted that it is a complicated situation since there are cold snaps and unusual weather events.
___
