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December 14, 2000 — NOAA reports that Santa Claus has contacted its National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., to determine which areas of the country are likely to have snow at Christmas time.
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To help Santa with his travel plans, the center has created a report that is available online. The report contains maps and tables showing the percent probabilities for a snow depth of at least 1 inch on Christmas morning, as well as the probabilities for a depth of at least 5 inches and 10 inches. These probabilities are based on long-term climatology and not on current weather patterns. The report is available online.

The actual conditions may vary widely from these probabilities. The snow on the ground or snowfall on Christmas day will depend on the actual weather pattern during that time. These probabilities are useful as a guide only to show where snow on the ground is more likely. If you would like to keep track of the snowfall across North America on a daily basis, see the NOAA Operational Daily Snow Analysis Charts.

(Click image for latest snow cover and ice in the Northern Hemisphere.)

The Asheville Center has more than 150 years of weather data on hand. These data range from handwritten observations taken by volunteers in the 19th century to more sophisticated radar, radiosonde, rocketsonde, and satellite observations by state-of-the-art equipment. The data include satellite weather images back to 1960, with 55 gigabytes of new information added each day—that is equivalent to 18 million pages a day.

Relevant Web Sites
Probability of a White Christmas

NOAA's National Climatic Data Center

NOAA Operational Daily Snow Analysis Charts

Media Contact:
Patricia Viets, NOAA Satellite Service, (301) 457-5005