Yearning for a white Christmas? 5 cities where it's most likely to snow

Yearning for a white Christmas? 5 cities where it’s most likely to snow

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Minneapolis tops the list of big U.S. cities likely to deliver on a white Christmas, according to data from AccuWeather. (The city’s annual Loppet ski festival is shown here.) (Photo Pixels / Meet Minneapolis)

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Point of fact: Minneapolis’ snowiest Christmas ever was in 1945 with 9.6 inches of the stuff falling. (Photo Pixels / Meet Minneapolis)

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If you decide to go to Minneapolis for Christmas, expect L.A.-Minneapolis/St. Paul airfares to start at $407 round-trip, according to Kayak.com. (Krivit Photography / Meet Minneapolis)

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Detroit, about to emerge from its long bankruptcy woes, shows about a 47% of having a white Christmas. Here’s an overview of the tree-lighting ceremony in the city’s Campus Martius. (Matt Schwedt / I.S.P.Photography )

By Mary Forgione

Dec. 11, 2014 8 AM PT

The weather outside really has been frightful. The East Coast currently is slammed with snow in its second nor’easter of the season. But where’s it likely to be snowing around Dec. 25 for those who want a white Christmas?

AccuWeather says look to the Midwest — places like Minneapolis and Detroit — and upper New York State.

The weather-forecasting website defines a white Christmas as one having at least an inch of snow on the ground on Christmas Day. It examined National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration snowfall data between 1981 to 2010 to predict which big cities in the U.S. are best bets for a snow-filled holiday.

Minneapolis takes first place, with a 77% chance of having an inch of snow on the ground on Dec. 25. (A representative from the city’s tourism bureau says they’re actually expecting mild temperatures on Christmas this year.)

Milwaukee, Detroit and Buffalo, N.Y., which was blasted with early-season snow last month, follow with a 47% chance of snowfall.

Denver appears to be on the bubble. Though the data show a 50% chance of snow on or around Christmas, the Mile High city could go the other way.

“It’s actually an interesting angle on this Christmas for Denver,” an AccuWeather spokesman wrote in an email. “Historically, they are one of the most likely cities to have a white Christmas; however, unusually warm weather around Christmas this year may very well prevent it.”

If that happens, Denver will join the dry and warm places to escape the cold on Christmas: Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Miami.