White Christmas

I've had the discussion already 3 or 4 times in the last few days, but people keep asking about a white Christmas here in Kansas. Some would define it as actually seeing snow fall on Christmas Day, while others just want to see it on the ground. The National Weather Service defines a white Christmas with one inch of snow already on the ground from a previous storm, or it can fall on Christmas Day. Records date all the way back into the 1800s for Wichita, and since that time, only 13 Christmas' have been white. You might remember that last year we had a big snowstorm in southcentral Kansas right before the holiday, leaving us with 4 inches on the ground Christmas morning. It tied the record for the snowiest Christmas ever, but it was not the coldest. A high of 10 degrees above zero is the coldest on record, which happened back in 1983. Last year, many in central Kansas were cleaning up after a major ice storm. Those in the northeast part of the country are still suffering after the big ice storm that hit just over a week ago.

Our active weather pattern will bring one more system to the area Friday before things begin to settle down over the weekend. Next week our weather pattern looks quiet. The bitter cold goes back to Canada and we may actually get through the week without any significant winter storms. Have a Merry Christmas!