What Are the Chances We’ll See a White Christmas in Central New York

Will it begin to look a lot like Christmas in New York? The chances are good that we'll have snow for the holidays this year.

I know. I know. It's still summer. But Christmas just isn't the Christmas in New York if there isn't at least a little snow on the ground. And we may be in luck this holiday season, according to the National Weather Service

Syracuse, NY Snow

Based on records from 1903 to 2013 at the Syracuse Hancock International Airport the chances we'll see a white Christmas are above average. It's even better for New Year's Day.

Christmas Snow
62% of Christmas days have an inch or more of snow on the ground (or about 3 out of every 5 years)
New Year's Day Snowfall
66% of New Year's days have an inch or more of snow on the ground (or about 2 out of every 3 years)

Binghamton, NY

Based on records from 1951 to 2013 at the Binghamton Regional Airport, the chance for a white Christmas is even better than Syracuse, but not by much.

Christmas Snow
65% of Christmas days have an inch or more of snow on the ground (or about 2 out of every 3 years)
New Year's Day Snowfall
69% of New Year's days have an inch or more of snow on the ground (or about 2 out of every 3 years)

Elmira, NY

The chances for Christmas snow in Elmira, New York aren't as good based on records from 1894 to 2013 from the NWS Elmira Cooperative Observer.

Christmas Snow
46% of Christmas days have an inch or more of snow on the ground (or about 1 out of every 2 years)
New Year's Day Snowfall
51% of New Year's days have an inch or more of snow on the ground (or about 1 out of 2 years)

Farmer's Almanac Snow Prediction

The Farmer's Almanac is predicting a snowy, cold season in New York. Good news for winter enthusiasts. Not so much for those of us who only go out when it's time to shovel the driveway and clean off the car to get to work.

Snow always makes the holiday season more special. But I wouldn't be opposed to Old Man Winter bringing us some on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and then going somewhere else for the rest of the winter season.

That would be a whole lot better than 2021 when we saw record snow about a week before Christmas.