Snow blankets Northeastern states as winter storm hits
Arctic air brings snow and single digit temps to states across the Northeastern U.S.
Will you have a white Christmas? It’s the annual question snow lovers have as the holiday approaches.
Though a white Christmas is virtually certain in some areas, the return of milder air and a storm ahead of the holidays will play a pivotal role in which parts of the Midwest and Northeast will have snow on the ground on Christmas morning, according to AccuWeather.
“The start of the winter season was remarkably cold and snowy for millions of people this year,” AccuWeather lead long-range expert Paul Pastelok said in an e-mail to USA TODAY. However, “that frigid and stormy pattern is not sticking around for the holidays.”
“More than 45% of America was blanketed in snow in early December. Snow lovers may be left disappointed in many towns this Christmas. Pacific air flowing over the Rockies can warm melting snow in a lot of places right before the holiday,” Pastelok said. “Areas with several inches of compact snow on the ground and colder air may luck out and experience a white Christmas.”
Where is a white Christmas most likely?
A white Christmas is all but certain for snow lovers in parts of the central and northern Rockies in 2025.
The higher elevations from Wyoming and Montana down through Utah and Colorado look solidly locked in for a white Christmas, with a 40-75% chance of snow on the ground for areas just outside the mountains, AccuWeather said.
Many areas downwind of the Great Lakes and within the typical lake-effect snowbelts are also expected to see a white Christmas. Some areas in the higher elevations of the Appalachians also have a better chance of snow, especially in New England.
Cold air may push into the Northeast at times before Christmas, which will help keep snow on the ground in some places.
Map shows AccuWeather’s forecast for a white Christmas in 2025
What is an official white Christmas?
It need not snow Dec. 25 to fit the National Weather Service’s definition of a white Christmas: There just needs to be at least 1 inch of snow on the ground. A trace amount of snow does not count. Any snow that develops during the day, however, certainly adds to the Yuletide mood.
On average, about 38% of the contiguous 48 states have an inch of snow on the ground on Christmas Day, according to 21 years of data compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Since 2003, those percentages have varied widely from year to year, from only 17.6% in 2023 to 63% of the contiguous United States in 2009, according to Weather.com.
Where a warm-up will melt snow before the holidays
Meteorologists say the return of milder air before Christmas will bring a dramatic shift in temperatures for much of the central and eastern United States.
“The first half of the month felt like Christmastime in areas that saw early snow and bitterly cold air,” Pastelok said. “There was snow on the ground from Texas and Oklahoma to Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky during the first week of December. Much of that snow is long gone.”
As of Dec. 16, 28% of the Lower 48 states were snow-covered, according to NOAA.
“The fresh blanket of snow from the winter storm this past weekend in southern coastal areas of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic could melt away in a lot of places as temperatures rise before Christmas,” Pastelok told USA TODAY.
Holiday week storm
Long-range experts say a storm is expected in the days leading up to Christmas, which could bring snow or ice to parts of the Great Lakes and interior Northeast.
“A storm could bring a fresh burst of snow just in time for Christmas morning. The exact track of the storm will determine which areas could be blanketed in fresh snow, and which towns could be soaked by rain instead,” Pastelok said. “At this time, it looks like areas north of Interstate 80 could see some snow. Mostly rain is expected south of Interstate 80.”
The back end of the storm could bring a few snow showers or flurries to some areas that experienced mostly rain.
The nation’s fascination with a white Christmas dates to 1942, when Bing Crosby first crooned the wistful song in the film “Holiday Inn.” Written by Irving Berlin, the lyrics bring out a romanticized image of Christmases past, “just like the ones I used to know.” A second movie – “White Christmas,” also with Crosby – arrived in 1954.
