We're just a few days away from Christmas, and even those who don't like snow will often root for a White Christmas.
However, the National Weather Service said it's not looking likely for a White Christmas in Southeast Michigan, and temps could even be in the 50s for Christmas this year. They'll be in the 40s leading up to Monday.
According to the National Weather Service for Detroit/Pontiac, the probability of a White Christmas – with at least 1 inch of snow on the ground – is 34.7% based on the 1991-2020 U.S. Climate normals.
Of the last 65 Christmas holidays, it breaks down this way:
- 26 have had no snow on the ground and no new snow
- 9 have had no snow on the ground but new snowfall
- 17 have had 1-3 inches of snow depth
- 13 have had over 3 inches of snow depth
Going back to 2005, only three Christmas seasons have had more than three inches of snow on the ground – 2008, 2010 and 2017.
The average climate for metro Detroit on Christmas has a high of 33, a low of 22, an average snowfall of .5 inches and average snow depth of 2 inches.
On the extreme end, the highest temperature was 64 in 1982, the lowest max temperature was 4 degrees in 1983, and the highest snowfall was 7.7 inches in 1915.
Between 1874-2022, the NWS has a list of the max temperature distribution, with a majority of the days between 30-39 degrees.
