The dream of a white Christmas for Central NY is becoming more likely

Syracuse, NY – Syracuse is one of the most reliable places in the country for a white Christmas, and it appears that trend will continue this year.

The combination of a few inches of snow tonight and Saturday, a very cold weekend preventing any melting, and another light snowfall on Christmas Eve means Christmas morning will likely be white.

“There’s a good chance we’ll have some snow on the ground by Christmas morning,” said Bryan Greenblatt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

A white Christmas is defined as there being at least an inch of snow on the ground by 7 a.m. Syracuse has a white Christmas about two-thirds of the time, one of the highest percentages of any major city in the United States

A clipper system will bring a few inches of snow today and into Saturday, enough to cover the ground but not cause travel problems, Greenblatt said.

Temperatures will drop in Syracuse this weekend, with highs around 18 degrees on Sunday and lows in the single digits on Sunday and Monday morning. The snow that falls today won’t go anywhere.

There is another chance of light snow on Tuesday morning, Christmas Eve. Temperatures could reach into the mid 30s.

We will see a warming trend after Christmas, with highs in the upper 30s late next week.