Where will there be a white Christmas this year in the US?
More people will see a snowy Christmas in 2024 compared to last year, but many areas could still end up more green than white on Dec. 25.
AccuWeather’s Lead Long-Range Expert Paul Pastelok was live on the AccuWeather Network on Dec. 16 to discuss who could see a white Christmas in the United States this year.
The holiday season is here, with parades, festivities, and appearances by Santa Claus becoming more frequent across the county. With Christmas right around the corner, people are beginning to check the forecast to see if the upcoming holiday will be snowy as the famous song describes.
In 2023, a white Christmas remained a dream for many, with snow absent from the December holiday for all but a few areas in the Northeast, across the West, and part of the northern Plains. To be considered a white Christmas, there must be at least 1 inch of snow on the ground on the morning of Dec. 25.
There is a better chance for a white Christmas this year compared to 2023, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Paul Pastelok, but many areas may end up more green than white due to a lack of snow.
A decorated Christmas tree stands in the snow-covered landscape shortly before sunrise in the village of Unterjoch. (Photo by Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Where will there be a white Christmas in 2024?
A white Christmas is a guarantee across the higher elevations of the Rocky Mountains, the part of the country that has a snowy holiday almost every year. It is also looking promising in a few areas of the East.
Things look good for the few towns and cities around the Great Lakes that have been buried in feet of lake-effect snow this month, including Erie, Pennsylvania, which has had its snowiest start to winter on record.
Some snow has fallen elsewhere across the interior Northeast and the Appalachians, but the big question will be whether it will be cold enough for the snow to remain on the ground until Dec. 25.
"The cold sticks with us at the start of Christmas week, but then it warms up as we head towards the middle of the week on Christmas," Pastelok said.
Even near the Rockies, some of the lower elevations, including Denver, may not have snow on the ground when the holidays arrive; although folks won't need to travel far to see a winter wonderland in the mountains during the holidays.
A stormy pattern setting up over the Pacific Northwest will also deliver the gift of a white Christmas to the areas near the mountains that typically have snow on the ground for the holidays. "It's some of these lower spots, [such as] interior Washington, maybe not much [snow] there because temperatures are not really that cold," Pastelok added.
The very end of December is likely to be good for skiers, even in areas where no natural snow falls.
In the Midwest and across the East, "there'll be a period of cold where you can make snow," Pastelok said. The good snow-making weather will be a boost for ski resorts that have missed out on snowstorms, or that have seen snow melt due to stretches of mild weather.
Across the Rockies and West Coast states, there has been plenty of snow in the mountains to fuel a strong start to the ski season. Even at California's Mammoth Mountain, where little snow fell in December, the resort measured 62 inches in November, the snowiest November since 2010.
Read AccuWeather's complete 2024-2025 U.S. ski forecast.
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