White Christmas...
We are a week away from Christmas, so the talk around the watercooler may be about whether it will be a "white" one. It looks pretty cut and dried this year barring any unforseen warmups or snow-eroding rainstorms. The temperatures have moved up into the 30s this week, but that is not enough to melt snow quickly. In addition we are heading for more clouds from Thursday through Sunday night, so it is unlikely that the impressive snow cover will go away. In fact, this weekend is likely to bring more snow just to freshen up what is already on the ground, and it could be a tidy number of inches, too. A very strong low pressure area is going to develop and bring about shoveling snowfall.
The chances of a "white" Christmas are pretty good anyway. On average the La Crosse National Weather Service says 7 to 8 out of 10 have either an inch or more of snow on the ground, or an inch or more falls on the holiday itself.
Here are more fun facts from the NWS:
La Crosse Christmas Facts
Temperatures...
| Normal High | 27 |
| Normal Low | 10 |
| Record High | 55 in 1936 |
| Record Low | -26 in 2000 and 1879 |
| Lowest High | -11 in 1884 |
| Highest Low | 46 in 1936 |
Precipitation...
| Record | 1.61" in 1895 |
| Record Snowfall | 5.4" in 1950 |
| Record Snow on the Ground | 15" in 1990 and 1927 |
| Climatological chance for a trace or more of snowfall | 54% |
| Climatological chance for a measurable snowfall | 24% |
| Climatological chance for an inch or more of snowfall | 11% |
| Climatological chance of an inch or more on the ground | 69% |
Overall chance for a "white" Christmas in La Crosse: 72%
Until next time,
Dan Breeden
News 19 Chief Meteorologist
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