The Rockies and Midwest have snow or might receive more by Monday, while other sections of the country that are usually snowy are still dismal late October.
Some people will get their dream, their wish, and a white Christmas right at the last minute,” said Verisk Atmospheric and Environmental Research seasonal forecasting head Judah Cohen. “But most of the country will have brown Christmas.
The Northeast is used to snowy Decembers, but a severe storm last week dropped heavy rain on ski regions, destroying the snowpack. Our paths weren't wiped off. However, Gunstock Mountain Resort general manager Tom Day in Gilford, New Hampshire, claimed it was wild rain.
He hiked the closed ski slopes Monday in 3.5 inches (8.8 cm) of warm rain and howling wind.“Rain is a four-letter word in our business,” Day remarked. Cohen expects no improvement by Christmas Day as the U.S. snow cover remains approaching record lows.
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 Denver and Minnesota might get snow.
For much of the country, the National Weather Service doesn't predict a snowy Christmas. However, “At least the weather is favorable for most people who have plans to travel this year,” the organization noted in its holiday prediction.
The best chance for a white Christmas by far is in Alaska,” the agency said. Anchorage's Christmas Day snow depth record is 30 inches (76 cm), established in 1994, and this year's might come close.
Cohen said climate change is reducing Christmas snow, but strong cold spells and odd weather occurrences compound the situation.