Mild weather for the holidays; Good for travel, bad for odds of a White Christmas

The week of Christmas is here. Many have already traveled to their holiday destination. Others will do the same early this week. Fortunately, the weather will stay mild through the week with rain at times, allowing reasonable travel on the roads.

Following the Winter Solstice over the weekend, Monday will offer a brief break in the rain with some early winter sunshine. The next Pacific weather system is set to sweep onshore Monday night and Tuesday with another surge of rainfall. The parent low-pressure system is forecast to swing north well offshore yet kick up some blustery winds mainly along the coast, north interior from Whidbey Island northward, and in the Cascade foothills.

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Another Pacific weather system is scheduled to follow on Christmas Day, with rain picking up throughout the day. Additional weather systems are forecast to maintain the wet conditions heading into the final weekend of 2024.

Temperatures this week will be relatively mild for this time of year. Highs will range from the upper 40s to the mid-50s, with lows in the upper 30s to mid-40s – about 5 to 10 degrees above average.

If heading into or through the Cascades, the week’s snow level will rise and fall with each passing weather system, ranging from nearly 3,000 to 4,500 feet. The best fresh snowfall should be found at the higher-elevation ski areas throughout the week.

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The ongoing mild and wet weather, includes Christmas Day that does not offer a White Christmas. Historically, the history of a White Christmas in Western Washington is limited – only about a 4 percent chance of having snow on the ground.

Seattle weather records go back to 1891, including records in downtown Seattle through 1944 and at Sea-Tac Airport from 1945 to the present. Snow has fallen on Christmas Day only a few times over the last 133 years.

They include:

1909: 1.8 inches
1915: 0.4 inches
1944: 0.2 inches
1965: 1.0 inches
1990: 0.8 inches
2007: 0.9 inches
2008: 0.4 inches
2017: 1.6 inches

2017 was the most recent Christmas Day with snow on the ground. In 2008, many recall a big dumping and called it snowmageddon. A surge of colder air from the interior of Western Canada swept into Western Washington in the middle of December and hung in there until just after New Years Day. Periods of snow fell during that time period, with some locations having one to two feet of snow on the ground Christmas Day. It was snowing on Christmas morning in the North Sound region making it a very festive day.

For those who would like a White Christmas, that will not be the case this year. Yet as Bing Crosby sings, we can dream of a White Christmas. Have a wonderful holiday season!

Ted Buehner is the KIRO Newsradio meteorologist. You can read more of Ted’s stories here and follow him on X.