All I want for Christmas is snow!

A Christmas wish with mixed blessings, as some love the idea of the beautiful white winter landscape, while others dread the cumbersome traffic and slippery pathways. So what is the probability of a white Christmas this year?

By Bente D. Knudsen  Picture: VisitDenmark

Although not able to look that far into the future, the latest update from Denmark’s weather institute DMI ( Danmarks Meterologiske Institut) published 8 December does not have many white snow flocks in its forecast. The mild autumn with temperatures above average has been replaced by a mild although windy beginning of the winter season and not much in the forecast leaves any hope of a white Christmas.

The monthly forecast for December says 3 degrees Celsius above average and in some areas with twice as much rain as usual. Also the sun is a rare sight – to be enjoyed whenever there!

Week 50 continues to be mild with temperatures between 5 and 8 degrees Celsius and no or only local frost during the night. Week 51 sees the beginning of more winds from the north, which  might allow for colder weather, and some of the rain could turn into a more wintry format (slud is the Danish term for rainy snow – although white it is more like rain and it certainly doesn’t stay on the ground but melts immediately). Temperatures will drop to between two and five degrees Celsius with some frost at night, but still it will be warmer than average.

Acccording to DMI weeks 52 and 53 are harder to predict, however not much looks as though the mild, grey and rainy weather will change. It can happen , but DMI thinks it is unlikely to do so, as they say ”chancen for hvid jul er meget lille”, the probability of a white Christmas is very small.