White Christmas 2017 Chances In Iowa Depend On Where You Live

DES MOINES, IA — For many of us, Christmas fails if there’s no snow. Our holiday memories of testing new sleds while bundled up in new mittens and scarves are tied up with a shiny bow. For others, snow can ruin holiday travel.

In Iowa, the chance of a backdrop of snow for Christmas ranges from about 25 percent to 75 percent, depending on what part of the state you live in, according to an interactive map from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association that shows the historical probability that a snow depth of at least one inch of snow on Dec. 25.

For better chances of a white Christmas, head to Minnesota, Maine, upstate New York, the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, almost anywhere in Idaho, the Rockies or the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In those states, weather history suggests the chances for a snowy holiday are the greatest.

Barring some remarkable weather phenomenon, a white Christmas isn’t going to happen on the West Coast, though higher altitudes in mountain range could see some snow. The Deep South is also out of luck.

NOAA’s map is based on the latest three-decade averages temperatures, precipitation and other climate variables. On the map below, the darkest gray areas show the areas with the lowest probability for a white Christmas and the white areas show the areas where the chances are the greatest.

Despite the historical probability for snowfall, Accuweather.com’s long-range forecast in Des Moines doesn’t look good for a white Christmas, either. There are a few flurries in the forecast between now and Christmas, but it looks like the holiday will be brown.

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