Dreaming of a white Christmas? Snow should arrive in Denver late Christmas Eve
Despite being one of the snowiest major cities in the country, the ground in Denver is usually bare on Christmas. That may not be the case this year.
A white Christmas is officially defined by the National Weather Service as having at least 1 inch of snow on the ground Christmas morning. Snow depth records go back 123 years and at least 1 inch snow has been measured 45 times on December 25 meaning the average of a white Christmas in Denver is about 37%.
Snow falling on Christmas is even more rare and on average happens only 14% of the time in Denver. In fact, the last time measurable snow fell on Christmas Day in the city was in 2015.
Still, Denver and the Front Range is one of the more favorable areas in the country for a snowy Christmas.
As of Tuesday morning, it appears likely a storm will impact Colorado from late Saturday through at least early Christmas Day on Monday.
An accurate snowfall forecast is not yet possible, but after a long stretch of very dry weather, Denver could finally get needed moisture.
Several weather models are pointing to significant snow developing in the Rocky Mountain region. Regardless of where the heaviest snow falls, it appears unlikely the Denver metro area will miss out completely. Preliminary forecasts call for anywhere from just 1-2 inches to more than a foot of snow in some areas. Early indications suggest northern Colorado could get more snow than the Denver metro area, but that forecast could change.
In addition to the aesthetics of a white Christmas, Denver and the Front Range could use snow. There has only been 1.4 inches of snow officially in the city this month which is about 3.0 inches below normal through December 18. For the season, the airport has measured 11.8 inches of snow which is about half of normal through the middle of December.
Stay with CBS News Colorado and the First Alert Weather Team for updates on the Christmas snow forecast!