Oddsmakers weigh chances US cities will see a white Christmas
If you're looking for a place to spend a white Christmas, oddsmakers say your best bet is to head to Minneapolis, though Buffalo isn't a bad idea either.
People wearing protective masks participate in a large-scale snowball fight on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021.
(Bonnie Cash/Bloomberg)
If you're looking for a place to spend a white Christmas, oddsmakers say your best bet is to head to Minneapolis, though Buffalo isn't a bad idea either.
Though betting on these kinds of events isn't legal in the U.S., those with the site US-Bookies.com have come out with the odds for major cities to have snow on the ground on Dec. 25, 2021 – just for entertainment purposes, of course. The odds were published earlier in December based on general probabilities before current medium-range forecast projections came to light.
The largest favorite, which will surprise no one, is Minneapolis at 4-11 odds, meaning hypothetically, you'd have to risk $11 to win $4 (plus your original $11 wager). Buffalo (3-4) and Rochester, N.Y. (4-5) are the only other cities on their chart where the odds are less than 1-1 or even money bets, meaning any winnings would be less than your original wager.
Historically speaking, Minneapolis has about a 60-75% chance of a white Christmas in any given year, while it's about 50-60% in much of Upstate New York.
Milwaukee at 11-10 and Cleveland at 5-4 are slight favorites, while odds start getting a more extensive spread as you head away from the snow belt, with Denver at 29-20, Detroit at 8-5 and Chicago at 13-8.
Choosing cities along the I-95 corridor in the northeast is a bit riskier, with Boston at 9-2, New York at 7-1 and Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. at 10-1 each.
MORE: What are the historical probabilities of a white Christmas?
The historical probability of a white Christmas.
(FOX Weather)
Then there are the long shots who rarely see snow on Christmas Day. Seattle is listed at 50-1 odds, while Atlanta is at 100-1, and Dallas is at 500-1! Seattle sees snow on Christmas about once every 13 years; Atlanta has had one measurable snow on Christmas (1.2 inches in 2010) since 1928, and Dallas has had snow on Christmas twice in its history, though only 0.4 inches on those dates. The site didn't mention the criteria needed to qualify as a white Christmas.
Now, if you really want to shoot for the stars, both San Francisco and Los Angeles are listed at 1000-1 odds of a white Christmas. It has never snowed in either city on Christmas since records were kept in the late 1800s. But it did snow just over an inch in Los Angeles in January 1932, and San Francisco did get 1.5 inches on Jan. 21, 1962, so it's not impossible.
With Christmas just a few days away, it looks like much of the country will end up on the mild side for the holiday weekend, with the exception of the Pacific Northwest and upper reaches of New England.