White Christmas? Interactive Map Shows The Odds In Washington

Forecasters have delved into historical records to figure out where snow is likely to fall on the holiday and, although it’s certainly possible, the Seattle area is not expected to be a winter wonderland.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration built an interactive map to figure out which regions of the United States will have the snowiest Christmas, based on climatological measurements taken over the last three decades.

The data from the forecast tool suggests that there is only a 5 percent chance that snow will fall on Christmas Day in Seattle. Most towns in the lowlands share single-digit chances, historically. Of course, towns in the foothills and higher elevations have slightly better odds, and Mount Rainier has an 80 percent probability of seeing at least one inch of snow Christmas Day.

AccuWeather’s meteorologists give the Seattle area similarly low chances at seeing some flakes.

According to NOAA, it's generally not possible to accurately predict snowfall more than a week in advance, and Puget Sound has certainly had a few tricks up its sleeve in the past. Seattle's last white Christmas was recorded just two years ago.

AccuWeather says snow this year appears set to fall in the West, the Plains and the Midwest.

The National Weather Service doesn’t give its prediction until much closer to the big day.

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