Iowans who want a white Christmas will have to drive to Minnesota

With Christmas now just a week away and temperatures recently reaching the 40s and even near 50 across much of the state, there’s little to no chance Iowans will see a white Christmas.

State climatologist Justin Glisan says despite the lack of snow expected on Christmas Day, Iowa has seen a significant amount of snowfall since Thanksgiving.

“So if you combine both November and December, we’re at about 15.6 inches, and that’s almost seven inches above what we had all of last winter,” Glisan says. “Which was the fourth least snowiest winter on record.”

Some communities, such as Fort Dodge, have received more than 30 inches of snow in recent weeks, but even there, the snow is quickly melting.

“The potential was there for a white Christmas with this snowpack on the ground,” Glisan says. “But with temperatures above freezing for the next week or two, we’re going to melt a lot of that snow.”

Glisan says Iowa has been gradually warming over the past several decades.

“If you look at the 30-year average for the potential of a white Christmas, which we define as at least one inch of snowfall on the ground, it’s decreased by anywhere from five to eight percent over the last 30 years, depending on where you are in the state from north to south,” Glisan says. “So the odds of a white Christmas are less than they were 30 years ago.”

Glisan says Iowa is currently in a weak La Niña weather pattern, which typically brings above-average snowfall, especially during January and February.