A white Christmas is unlikely this year, but a storm is coming this weekend.
Current forecasts call for sunny skies and temperatures in the 50s over roughly the next day. That may seem unusual for December, but over the last decade the year’s last month has frequently had several days of temperatures in that range.
Clouds are expected to roll in by Saturday night, with rain forecast to begin Sunday morning and continue until Monday.
The National Weather Service predicts 2 to 3 inches of rain for the New York metro area, and wind gusts reaching upwards of 45 miles per hour. After the storm clears, the weather should be calm for the holidays.
“We are expecting a strong system coming through this weekend, rain and wind gusts, that will clear up by Monday,” said NWS meteorologist Matthew Wunsch. “Most of next week should be fairly quiet.”
The NWS defines a “white Christmas” as at least an inch of snow on the ground on Christmas morning. That doesn’t mean it has to snow on Christmas Day or Eve; it just means there has to be snow on the ground.
According to the National White Christmas Map, New York City has a low chance — 15% at best — of holiday snow, based on the last three decades of local weather data.
The city’s last white Christmas was in 2009, when there were 2 inches of snow on the ground. But it didn’t snow that day.
Since 1912, the Big Apple has had snow on the ground on Christmas morning only 18 times.
“[It’s] very doubtful there will be a white Christmas in New York City,” said Bill Goodman, another NWS meteorologist. “Winter will come, but you will have to wait until January and February.”
Leave a Reply