{"id":33368,"date":"2013-12-20T11:33:36","date_gmt":"2013-12-20T17:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=33368"},"modified":"2013-12-20T11:58:20","modified_gmt":"2013-12-20T17:58:20","slug":"dreaming-of-a-white-christmas-in-texas-keep-dreaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2013\/12\/20\/dreaming-of-a-white-christmas-in-texas-keep-dreaming\/","title":{"rendered":"Dreaming of a White Christmas in Texas? Keep Dreaming"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Map by NOAA<\/p>

This map shows the historic probability of a "White Christmas" across the U.S.<\/p><\/div>\n

The winter weather came a little too early for Texas this year.<\/p>\n

Just a few weeks ago, an ice storm knocked out power for over 800,000 people<\/a> in North Texas. But the forecasts are saying pretty much all of Texas has a practically zero chance for a “White Christmas” this year.<\/p>\n

Forecasting\u00a0from historical records, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration puts the chance of a White Christmas<\/a> for almost all of Texas at between zero and 10 percent. (In small parts of the Panhandle, your odds are only slightly better: between an 11 and 25 percent chance of a White Christmas.) NOAA defines a White Christmas as “at least 1 inch of snow on the ground” on December 25.<\/p>\n

But there’s still time to book a plane ticket if you must have snow this year. According to NOAA, these are the places to go:<\/p>\n

“Minnesota. Maine. Upstate New York. The Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Practically anywhere in Idaho. And of course, the Rockies or the Sierra Nevada Mountains. These are the places where weather history suggests you want to be if you’re looking for the best chance of a white Christmas.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A caveat: the NOAA forecast only looks at\u00a0probability. Check out the real-time snow map <\/a>for the U.S. and the latest severe weather alerts<\/a> across the county. And keep your fingers crossed: forecasts can be wrong.<\/p>\n