White Christmas Not Likely for State College, but Travel Conditions Look Promising

With fewer than 48 hours left before the big day, forecasts show that a white Christmas is highly unlikely for the State College area, AccuWeather.com meteorologist Brian Edwards said.

But Centre County certainly isn’t alone.

‘I wouldn’t anticipate a lot of places seeing a white Christmas’ in Pennsylvania, Edwards said.

He said only some reaches of northern and northwestern Pennsylvania could see some snow sticking around through Sunday. They saw as much as an inch or two of fresh snowfall overnight late Thursday.

‘If that sticks around, it could be a white Christmas’ for them, Edwards said.

While it doesn’t square with Bing Crosby’s visions, a snowless Christmas should make for easier traveling for road warriors, AccuWeather.com data show. High pressure is forecast for much of the U.S. this weekend.

The only U.S. region that may see significant precipitation Saturday is along the Gulf Coast, Edwards said. It could face some steady rain, according to forecasts.

‘Everything else looks fairly quiet’ for Christmas Eve, Edwards said.

The equation will change somewhat for Sunday — Christmas Day — as the precipitation in the Gulf Coast region is expected to move north. It could affect swaths of Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia, Edwards said.

But it’s anticipated to bring only rain — no snow.

‘It looks like this storm doesn’t come far enough’ to bring any wet conditions to the northeastern U.S., Edwards said.

And while some light snow or flurries may be visible Sunday in the Great Lakes region, that probably won’t be enough to cover the ground markedly, he said.

‘There doesn’t look like there’s going to be a lot in the way of accumulations,’ Edwards said.

Related coverage

• StateCollege.com’s local-weather page