Christmas Weather Forecast: Will the Midwest Get a White Holiday?

Christmas is just days away, and kids everywhere are hoping there’s plenty of snow for Santa to make his way around the globe in his sleigh. Since most of the Midwest has seen little snow so far this season, many Midwesterners are wondering if a white Christmas is in the cards for the usual snowy region.

While last week’s forecast indicated there would be a possibility for snow on Christmas Day for much of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Nebraska and Minnesota, now, it appears rain, or no precipitation, is more likely.

According to Christmas weather forecast projections from the National Weather Service, temperatures across much of the Midwest will be unseasonably warm on Christmas Eve, hovering around the 40s and 50s for much of the region. On Christmas Day, temperatures will dip, but not enough for snow to form or stay.

Rain showers are likely from the southern Great Lakes into the Ohio Valley on Christmas Eve, according to Wunderground.com. “With mild temperatures dominating, any snowy travel might be pinned to areas near the Canadian border in the Midwest and northern Great Lakes,” they add.

On Christmas Day, “Much of the central U.S. will enjoy a dry holiday with no weather-related travel impacts,” Wunderground.com adds.

The normal high for Christmas in Chicago is 32 degrees, according to Weather.gov. The highest temperature recorded on Christmas in the Windy City is 64 degrees, recorded in 1982. The coldest high temperature on Christmas was -5 degrees, which happened in 1983.

Here are projected 2021 Christmas Day high and low temperatures for several major Midwest cities (via the National Weather Service):

Chicago, Illinois: 31/16
Detroit, Michigan: 32/21
Cleveland, Ohio: 36/27
Indianapolis, Indiana: 50/31
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: 39/29
Kansas City, Missouri: 55/40
Omaha, Nebraska: 28/10
Minneapolis, Minnesota: 12/0

If you’re hoping for a white Christmas, your best bet is to head to in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula or the most northern sections of the Midwest, which are the most likely to get a dusting of snow if any precipitation forms.