Christmas Day is on the 10-day forecast

 

Christmas Day is officially on the 10-day. The holiday season is usually the time of year when many people are "okay" with the idea of snow but some of us haven't seen much at all. We've had a couple snow events so far this year. Most of us saw our first snowflakes and first tenth of snow at the end of October. Then inland counties like Waukesha, Jefferson and Walworth saw 1-2" of snow just before Thanksgiving. The biggest storm came this past weekend when parts of Washington, Jefferson and Dodge Counties got over 6" of snow. But Milwaukee and some other lakeside areas haven't seen much at all. Through December 15 Milwaukee has only picked up 0.4" of snow so far this season which is well below last year and now 7" below-average. 

We are starting to see a snow drought settle in. 7" is a lot of snow to make up although we've plenty of storms bring that amount and more in Milwaukee's history. A few snowflakes and flurries are possible Wednesday and Thursday but big snow storms are staying out of the 10-day forecast. We're also watching Saturday morning for some rain/snow mix that is possible. 

So what does the lack of snow so far mean for our White Christmas chances? If you got decent snow this weekend I think most of that should remain. We could see some melting the next week with a few days in the low 40s but if you have 4" or 5" of snow still on the ground then you should have a White Christmas. For the rest of us, our White Christmas chances don't look great. I would give it a 30% chance right now. There's no big snow accumulating storms in the forecast over the next 10-days. Our best chance may end up being Christmas Eve or Christmas Day when temperatures look cooler, possibly the coldest of the season. If those temperature hold all we need is a little moisture and there are some signs that is possible. 

Download the CBS 58 Ready Weather app to track the forecast going into the holiday. Click here to see the 10-day forecast.