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Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? Here are the historical odds in NC

With the start of December this week comes the start of the "will we have a white Christmas" questions into WRAL's team of meteorologists.

Posted Updated

By
Kat Campbell
, WRAL meteorologist

With the start of December this week comes the start of the “will we have a white Christmas” questions into WRAL’s team of meteorologists.

While it’s too soon to say for sure, we released our 2021 Winter Outlook and we are expecting below normal snowfall this winter in the Triangle.
Historically the odds of a white Christmas are low in central NC.

Historically the odds of a white Christmas are low in central NC.

The record Christmas snow was 0.4” at RDU in 2010 and 1947. The odds of a white Christmas are calculated using the 1981-2010 climate normals.Are you a snow lover hoping for a different answer?

The numbers are slightly more promising when you look back at all data and count years where snowflakes fell but didn’t add up to anything.

If you stretch your definition to include those years then the odds of a white Christmas in the Triangle goes up to 15.7%

The record Christmas snow was 0.4” at RDU in 2010 and 1947. The odds of a white Christmas are calculated using the 1981-2010 climate normals.

Traveling for Christmas this year? Here’s the historical odds of a white Christmas across the country.

The Climate Prediction Center experimental outlooks for December 11 through Christmas Eve (as far out as they go) shows better chances of above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation.

So what about this year? The odds aren’t looking great for snow lovers.

The Climate Prediction Center experimental outlooks for December 11 through Christmas Eve (as far out as they go) shows better chances of above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation.

The Climate Prediction Center experimental outlooks for December 11 through Christmas Eve (as far out as they go) shows better chances of above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation.

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