Dreams of a snowy holiday are melting away for Chicagoans as meteorologists predict a green Christmas for the Windy City.
Meteorologist Zachary Yack laid out a very balmy picture, saying it's "very, very unlikely" Chi-Town will get snow this Christmas, as noted in a Block Club Chicago interview. Temperatures are projected to linger around 50 degrees on Christmas day, with expectations of rain rather than snowfall. This potential high beats the city's average December temperatures by about 15 degrees.
But that's not all—Todd Kluber, another expert from the National Weather Service, echoes the unseasonal forecast. As reported by the Chicago Tribune, Kluber said that the holiday weekend promises to be "warm and rather wet." The city could see one of the top ten warmest Christmases if temperatures reach the anticipated 53 degrees, edged out only by the scorching 64-degree high of 1982.
The reason behind this warm spell? Scientists credit a strong El Nino pattern for making Chicago's winter milder and drier than normal. While there's still a sliver of hope for snow before the New Year, the odds remain low. "There’s still no sign of really cold air for New Year, so the snow chances, while not zero, are looking pretty low here for the rest of the month," Kluber told the Chicago Tribune.
Travelers, however, might welcome this forecast with open arms. The Chicago Department of Aviation is bracing for a holiday bustle with more than 3.4 million passengers forecasted to fly via O'Hare and Midway airports. And with rain boots instead of snow shoes being the footwear of choice this Christmas, it looks like the only white that Chicago will see this season is the frosting on its gingerbread cookies.
