Buffalo’s Chances For a White Christmas in 2021
It's December, which means Christmas shopping is well underway, holiday music is everywhere, and maybe even snow is on the ground or at least in the shortrange forecast.
Snow is always associated with the holidays. Just think of certain Christmas songs that mention the snow -- "White Christmas," "Winter Wonderland," "Let It Snow," "Frosty the Snowman" and many more prominent examples.
But what about snow on the ground for Christmas in 2021? In Buffalo, Western New York, and across the state of New York?
It's the burning question that everyone wants to know -- will we get a white Christmas this year?
We don't know for sure yet (we're still three weeks out from Christmas Eve), but AccuWeather has released its white Christmas forecast for 2021.
In terms of probability for a white Christmas, the state as a whole will have an average shot at a white Christmas in 2021, maybe slightly below average.
In fact, New York City is technically in a region that has a less than average shot at a white Christmas for 2021.
Western New York's chances for a white Christmas are a little greater, especially just south of Buffalo where the chances of lake effect are heightened.
Last year in Western New York, we saw a couple of inches of snow on the ground for Christmas Day with a system that moves in Christmas Eve night and then heavy lake effect on the 26th, which gave many in Buffalo more snow than they bargained for.
Chances are that won't happen again, but you never know in Western New York.
New York State's chances of at least one inch of snow on the ground for Christmas Day are average, which is somewhere between 50-75 percent.
Basically, fingers have to be crossed because it'll be a coin flip whether or not we get a white Christmas this year.