Syracuse, N.Y. -- There is virtually no chance of a white Christmas this year in Central New York, meteorologists say.
“Unfortunately, I would say the chances are probably close to zero,” said Mike Kistner, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Binghamton. That office covers the Finger Lakes, Central New York and Southern Tier.
Temperatures will be relatively warm through Christmas Day, and there’s only the slightest chance of snow this weekend. If snow does fall, Kistner said, it would likely be mixed with rain and wouldn’t even stick to the grass.
Even if, against the odds, snow actually fell and clung precariously to lawns on Sunday morning, high temperatures in the mid 40s on Sunday would extinguish any dreams of a white Christmas.
The weather service definition of a white Christmas, by the way, is at least 1 inch of snow on the ground at 7 a.m.
Other spots in Upstate New York have a better chance of a white Christmas, but not much. A couple of inches of snow remain on the ground across the Adirondacks and the North Country, but that probably won’t hang around until Monday given the temperatures.
The best bet - and still not a very good one -- would be in far Western New York, where Monday night’s lake effect storm dumped heavy snow in a thin band south of Buffalo. The village of Cattaraugus, just 27 miles downwind of Lake Erie, had 10 inches of snow on the ground Wednesday morning, but that dwindled to 5 inches today. At that rate, snow is unlikely to survive until Monday.
Christmas Day is likely to be partly sunny and warm, with a high temperatures in the 40s across much of the state and even into the low 50s in Western New York. There’s a chance of rain Christmas night and into Tuesday.
It’s not looking good for snow through the rest of 2023. The Climate Prediction Center says it’s highly likely that much of the U.S., especially the Northeast, will be warmer and drier than normal the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Warmer-than-normal temperatures are expected across most of the U.S. the week of Christmas, with the odds greatest in the Northeast and Upper Midwest.National Weather Service