If you’re dreaming of a white Christmas, you might be in luck — although it might come with a price tag.
That cost: Bitterly cold temperatures and a storm that could affect your travel plans.
Here’s the crux of the situation, according to the National Weather Service: We’re likely to get some snow later this week — how much is still TBD, although several inches are possible — and whatever snow we receive is likely to remain on the ground, given how ridiculously cold it will be in the foreseeable future.
The NWS says precipitation is likely on Thursday, with it turning to snow after 7 p.m. There’s a 50 percent chance of snow before 1 p.m. on Friday. An ancillary issue: Severe winds, gusting up to 40-55 mph, will create blowing snow and hazardous conditions. The harshest period for travel is expected to be Thursday night through Friday afternoon.
At night, wind chill temps are expecting to reach as low as minus-30. Yes, you read that correctly. From Thursday night through Monday morning, sub-zero wind chills could be plentiful.
Areas north of Champaign-Urbana could see higher snowfall totals.
And that snow won’t be going anywhere. The high temperature for Saturday, according to the NWS, will be 6. The high on Christmas: a balmy 12. But, hey, the sun will be out. So they say.
Based on data from 1981 to 2010 collected by the Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign-Urbana has about a 30 percent chance of a white Christmas.
Below is a map that shows the probability of a white Christmas, via climate.gov. The lighter the color, the more likely it is that there will be more than 1 inch on the ground of snow on Christmas. (Conclusion? If you want to have a white Christmas, move north.)
In the past 10 years, we can recall two white Christmases – as recently as 2017 and in 2010.
Here’s the good news, friends: Santa’s sleigh always seems to find its way to the Champaign-Urbana region, even if there’s no snow – which is 7 out of every 10 years.