If you’re dreaming of a white Christmas, you’d better head north. Meteorologists predict snow in the Mountain West and from northeast Montana into northern Michigan and parts of upstate New York into northern New England. According to the Weather Channel, lower chances for a white Christmas exist from portions of the Northern Plains into the upper Midwest and the interior Northeast and Appalachians.
As for the rest of us – keep dreaming.
MORE:
- 5-DAY FORECAST
- CHRISTMAS WEEKEND FORECAST
White Christmas
Meteorologists define a white Christmas as having 1 inch or more of snow on the ground on Christmas morning. It doesn’t have to be snowing on the holiday for that to happen.
The Weather Channel’s snow map closely aligns with historical data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It reflects the normal chance, or probability, of a white Christmas based on data from the 1981-2010 three-decade averages.
Suffice it to say (and sorry to dash your dreams), but short of Santa dropping snow from his sleigh, there will be no snow in Northeast Georgia on Christmas Day. In a December that is currently 8 degrees above normal, chances of snow will remain slim through the New Year.
“The normal highs for this time of year are in the low 50s with normal lows in the lower 30s. At this time, temperatures across the area appear too warm for any snow to fall,” says meteorologist Patricia Atwell with the National Weather Service in Peachtree City.
Of course, while disappointing to many, this Christmas snow forecast is nothing new. White Christmases are rare in Northeast Georgia. There have been three in White County in the past 78 years, including a light dusting last year that also fell in Habersham and neighboring areas.
The most significant Christmas snowfall in the region occurred in 1947 when Cleveland weather observer Mary Lou Sutton recorded 7 inches of snow and Cornelia recorded 2 inches.
In 2010, WRWH Radio in Cleveland recorded over 2 inches of snow on Christmas day. Other weather stations recorded similar amounts, including in Athens.
About an inch fell in parts of Habersham and White counties last later.
December snow dreams
December snow is also infrequent, but it does happen. Northeast Georgia’s biggest December snowfall event in the 78 years of record-keeping occurred relatively recently, on December 9, 2017. Over 10 inches of snow fell in the area of Anna Ruby Falls in northern White County and 4.5 inches fell in Banks County, National Weather Service records show.
The heaviest snow accumulations occurred in a ribbon stretching from Carroll County into the northwestern Atlanta suburbs and into the north Georgia mountains. Up to a foot of snow accumulated in these areas.
The heaviest December snowstorm known to hit northern Georgia arrived on December 3, 1886, and lasted through December 6 of that year. Reporting in the Dahlonega Signal newspaper the following week, editor J.W. Woodward wrote that Dahlonega recorded a total of 24 inches of accumulated snow on the ground.
For now, pictures of snowy white holidays – or a trip up north – will have to satisfy snow-lovers in Georgia, but that doesn’t mean one can’t dream. After all, anticipation is half the fun of Christmas. Although there will be no snow this year, there’s always 2022.
