Dreaming of a White Christmas?
Around this time of year, people start to wonder whether or not it will feel like Christmas with there being snow on the ground or falling. Most of Northern Illinois had a nice snow depth of 5 to 10 inches after the snow storm that came through early in the month. This snowstorm was followed by a cold spell that allowed the snow to stick around. But since then, temperatures have been above normal and all of that snow has since melted.
A White Christmas is defined as having an inch of snow depth on the morning of the 25th. Here is a national map outlining the probabilities of having a White Christmas.
The Rockford area is in the 51-60% probability of having a White Christmas, while the Chicago area is in the 41-50% probability of having a White Christmas. The last time that both Chicago and Rockford had an inch of snow on the ground on Christmas morning was in 2003 when exactly 1 inch was on the ground. Last year was fairly similar to this year where there was an early December snowstorm, but then warm temperatures melted the snow by the time Christmas rolled around.
For updates on whether accumulating snow or any other significant weather hazard is expected in the next 7 days, view our Hazardous Weather Outlook.
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