Dreaming of A White Christmas? You May Be Disappointed

November’s mild weather is extending into early December, and the prospects for a white Christmas are looking increasingly grim for some Minnesotans. “We just don’t have enough cold air in place,” says climatologist Kenny Blumenfeld. But there is a ray of hope as Blumenfeld says there are a couple of systems on the horizon that could bring precipitation including one coming later this week. “There’s enough of a sign that at least one of these storms will produce some snow that I’d say some parts of Minnesota, half of the state or so, should have a white Christmas,” according to Blumenfeld.

Historically, there is about a 75-80 percent chance of a white Christmas in the Twin Cities. Blumenfeld cautions that the technical definition of a white Christmas, which is one inch of snow at an official measuring station, may not match our personal expectations or reflect the amount of snow in our neighborhoods. “Actually, in the last several years there’s been a couple of times where we kind of got saved by the bell, but I don’t think that’s what Bing Crosby meant,” says Blumenfeld.

Blumenfeld and his co-host Jim du Bois also discuss a recent nationwide study by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that assesses the risk of natural disasters including severe storms on a county-by-county basis and look back at the record-setting temperatures in November.