White Christmas ‘possible’

Published 6:15 am Thursday, December 23, 2010

While hope remains year and year snow on Christmas morning will be nothing short of a Christmas miracle.

According to the National Weather Service in Birmingham, Friday should see partly sunny skies and a high in the 50s. Clouds thicken late in the day, and some precipitation could arrive after midnight Friday night.

“Light snow is possible for most of North and Central Alabama, and even parts of South Alabama,” ABC 33/40 Meterologist James Spann wrote on his blog Wednesday.

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“Most of the state has a good chance of seeing some snow Saturday.”

Spann added that several things are working against Alabama with regard to Christmas snowfall.

“We all know climatology is working against us when it comes to snow on Christmas Day,” he added.

“We have never had a white Christmas in the classic sense in Birmingham and weather records here go back to the late 1800s.”

Still, he said it’s hard to ignore the fact that weather projections are shaping up promising for those hopeful of a white Christmas.

“Looking at a vast array of 12Z model data, and the morning idea of a dusting to (a half) inch for North-Central Alabama still looks good for Christmas Day,” he said. “Moisture…is very, very limited. There could be a window for heavier snow to the south.”

Projects for Central Alabama South show that the most likely scenario for Saturday will be rain that could change over to snow as temperatures drop and remain in the 30s throughout the day.