With Christmas 2014 just around the corner, it is only natural to wonder if the event will be greeted with snow this year. Initial predictions and forecasts have revealed that some parts of the United States will have a White Christmas while much of the United Kingdom is in for a disappointment as the white flurry is unlikely to fall there during Christmas.
Here are initial predictions and forecast for the US and the UK:
United States:
Weather forecasters are of the view that a number of US states will get snow in time for the holiday. According to AccuWeather Global Weather Center, there are three winter storms on the cards from California to New York City, which might help bring the white power to various regions of the country.
"The storms will develop in the Southern states and then track northeastward," AccuWeather expert Paul Pastelok said in a statement. "How far north the storms track into the cold air will determine the extent of snow."
According to Matthew Holliday of the First-Hand Weather website, snow could be coming in time for Christmas to much of the US. He says the prospects are good for various areas with the Western Rockies and Great Lakes regions particularly thought to have the highest probability of snowfall.
Holliday predicts that the northern plains have better than 50 percent chance of seeing snow while much of the East Coast from Boston to Virginia and even a large swathe of area down south have 15 to 30 percent chances of snow.
"Because I am expecting a winter storm right around Christmas and a potential pre-Christmas storm next weekend, you will notice that I have most of the U.S. with a chance at having a white Christmas," Holliday wrote. "What may even be more surprising is that I have a 15 to 30 percent chance of a white Christmas across a large region of the southern U.S., which is unheard of for this time of year."
One storm, which is forecast to roll across California, will bring rain while blanketing the mountains in snow. The storm will travel to the southern reaches of the Rockie Mountains then hit Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi with thunderstorms starting on Friday, according to AccuWeather.
This weather pattern is expected to affect northern reaches of the Midwest from Ohio to Iowa by Saturday night. The biggest pre-Christmas shopping days could see snowfalls in places ranging from Washington DC to New York and even Boston as well as Midwest cities from Indianapolis to Pittsburgh.
Also another storm could develop in the South Central US just two days before Christmas, which will head northeast – possibly just in time for Christmas, AccuWeather says. But this forecast may be potentially incorrect at the current update.
Minneapolis, Denver, Colorado; Buffalo, Detroit and Milwaukee are predicted to most likely receive snowfall during Christmas day, according to latest updates.
United Kingdom:
Weather conditions across the United Kingdom have been very changeable lately and weather forecasters are struggling to precisely determine if Christmas is going to be a white one this year.
"It currently looks like the changeable conditions will continue into next week, with milder spells interspersed with periods of colder and showery conditions," Christ Burton from the Weather Network predicts.
"During the colder interludes, showers will likely fall as snow on northern high ground with perhaps some wintry showers to lower levels at times too."
However, according to predictions, even the higher grounds and upland areas where the snow is most likely to fall during the holiday do not hold more than 40 percent chances of receiving snow. Upland areas of northern Britain and Northern Ireland, with the highest chances of snow, have been given 40 percent probability, according to calculations, while some wintry showers could make it to the lower levels in northern Scotland.
Much of Northern England including Manchester, Liverpool, New Castle, Leeds and much of the Northern Ireland have more than 20 percent chances of snowfall. Much of the Southern England including Wales, West Midlands, and London have below 20 percent chances of having a White Christmas for 2014.
Snow on the big day itself is fairly uncommon as it is typically more common during the months of January, February and early March in the United Kingdom. Going by historic probability, Edinburgh has 20 percent and Belfast, 22 percent chances of having snow while London and Cardiff have only 12 and 8 percent chances, respectively, to see a snow fall on Christmas day.
More updates will follow closer to Christmas Day.
