Weather Focus 3: Northeast Ohio Has An Equal Chance Of A White Christmas Each Year

CLEVELAND -- What are the chances northeast Ohio will have a white Christmas this year?

The answer is pretty good if you look at the historical averages from the National Climatic Data Center who put together a study several years ago to give meteorologists and snow wishers a guide for their annual predictions.

Around Ohio, the cities of Cleveland, Youngstown and Toledo have the greatest chances of over 50% to see a snow depth of at least one inch on Christmas Day.

Those chances lessen dramatically as you head further south in the state.

The city of Cleveland also ranked best in the state for having at least a five inch snow depth, but that was just 17% of a chance.

In an exclusive WKYC Weather Web Poll, we asked our on-line surfers "Is the Cleveland area in store for a white Christmas this year?" Nearly 78% thought yes, while 22% felt the ground would be green. This puts great pressure on Old Man Winter and Mother Nature to keep die hard winter fans from being disappointed.

If you wish to be assured on a white Christmas, you just might want to make those reservations to one of the following cities with a guaranteed 100% chance of a least one inch of snowfall on the ground: Marquette, Michigan; Sault St. Marie, Michigan; Hibbing, Michigan; International Falls, Minnesota; and Stampede Pass, Washington.

The only U.S. city with a 100% chance of at least five inches on the ground was Stampede Pass, which also fared well with a 96% chance of a snow depth of least ten inches - the highest of any location in the nation.

Click this link to save and print a copy of the national white Christmas probabilities and specific chances for all major Ohio cities.