I’ve heard it all from “I hate snow” to “is it going to be a snowy Christmas, please say yes!” These are comments my students have made as well.

This map shows the highest probability of having a white Christmas (snow cover) being over Northern Minnesota and much of Canada where the probability is over 90%. I always consider Sioux City to be on the borderline of the snowbelt-the area of the U.S. that normally experiences prolonged period of snow cover. From my experience here it totally depends on the year and weather pattern. Some years we get snow but episodes of Pacific air sweep in from the west and melt away the snow. In other years when Arctic air seems to stay entrenched, the snow lasts for a solid couple of months before it melts. Whether you like snow or not, at this point there will be no opportunities for new snow through Wednesday of the coming week. I will say that a few models have been hinting at a few minor disturbances that could bring a shot of light snow by the end of the coming travel week and into Christmas weekend. The atmosphere will be cold enough to support snow by then, but right now the models are inconclusive. Of course we’ll be sure to let you snow lovers know if any decent chances pop up to save the chance of getting a festive, white Christmas.
Dave Winslow

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We’ve seen about 3″ of snow so far this winter and that was mainly from one system. It was 44° yesterday so snow is long gone except for a few ugly piles here and there. Is there any snow potential for Christmas? Of course there is some, the winter solstice is coming next week. But the weather pattern says otherwise as we warm into the 40s and 50s this weekend. The next big storm will probably stay to our south on Monday-Tuesday. It will probably get a bit warmer after this system by midweek. Now, Christmas weekend is beyond forecast confidence but some models have been hinting that there could be a chance of cooler weather that would support snow if we can get some precipitation. Bottom line-it’s too early to tell, but I would say the odds are against it at the moment if I had to bet the farm.
Some stats for you (Sioux City)
Snow depth in 2010 on Christmas Day 5″
depth in 2009 12″
depth in 2008 12″+
depth in 2007 2″
depth in 2006 0″ (NONE)

So it’s been 5 years since our last snowless Christmas. Stay tuned to News Four to track any snow potential for the upcoming travel week and weekend.
Meteorologist Dave Winslow

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I had the chance to talk to the 5th grade class at Mater Dei in Sioux City today and we had a great time.  As one of the teachers mentioned to me, the kids may have kept me there with questions all day and that’s a great sign!

Thanks 5th graders and keep studying hard!!

Ron Demers

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