Here Are the Odds of a White Christmas in Central New York This Year

Dreaming of a White Christmas? It just might be a reality this year!

Christmas is officially less than 20 days away and the first reports of whether or not it'll be white are officially here.

With Central New York powering through several blasts of lake effect snow, you'd think the odds would be in our favor.

Unfortunately, some long-range prognosticators say otherwise.

The Old Farmer's Almanac recently issued its annual prediction and said Central New York will have a green Christmas.

The almanac said that while New York's chances of seeing snow on Christmas Day are minimal this year, historical weather data from the NOAA suggests a miracle could still happen.

Around upstate New York and western New England, it’s just over a 50-50 shot.

Speaking of the NOAA, another snowfall prediction tool uses similar data so people can track the likelihood of having snow on Christmas Day.

The data comes from their National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center (NOHRSC), and all one has to do is select the city closest to them and select December 25 for the forecast.

White Christmas Calculator

The calculator is currently predicting a roughly 60% chance of Syracuse, our closest city, receiving over an inch of snow on December 25.

This belief is reflected by the Will I Get a White Christmas website, which also tasks people to put in their location to see the probability.

Utica has a 50% chance for snow on December 25, which is tied with Niagara Falls' chances. Meanwhile Syracuse and Watertown's odds are at 25 percent.

What Are the National Forecasters Predicting?

The National Weather Service issued its own predictions for what Christmas will look like.

Using historical data, it determined the probability of New York seeing greater than an inch of white stuff on the ground.

For Central New York, they put our odds between 76 to 90% based on previous holiday forecasts.

Accuweather is also out with its weather predictions for the month and says Utica will see "a little snow" on Christmas Eve that will turn into "fluffy snow" overnight, with a predicted low of 14 degrees.

Accuweather is not ruling out the possibility of waking up to a blanket of snow and a beautiful backdrop while opening presents Christmas morning.

Christmas Day, they say, could have "periods of snow" and temperatures hovering around 30 degrees.

The weather watcher also says an additional 1.5 inches of snow could fall on the holiday.

Meanwhile, holiday hopefuls are still waiting to hear Weather Underground's official Christmas forecast.

This prognosticator tends to issue its ruling a few days before the big day, which may be why so many tend to rely on their word above all else.

In the end, while snow would leave a magical touch on the sentimental holiday - it's who we choose to spend it with that makes it truly special.

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