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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