Subscribe
Jobs
Cars
Real Estate
Apts
Classifieds
Shop
For northeast Indiana residents steeped in holiday tradition, chances are this Christmas is more Dan Fogelberg than Bing Crosby.
Whereas Crosby sang about dreaming of a white Christmas, Fogelberg crooned about snow turning to rain on Christmas Eve in the tune “Same Old Lang Syne.” And it is rain that is supposed to wipe out any hope of Fort Wayne’s celebrating a white Christmas today.
A white Christmas – defined by weather experts as 1 inch of snow on the ground on Christmas Day – was given slim odds by veteran meteorologist Chris Daniels of Indiana’s NewsCenter.
As of noon Thursday, there was indeed about an inch of snow covering the ground. But Daniels said oncoming rain was expected to wash at least some of that away, putting the snow cover below the standard 1-inch mark.
Fort Wayne’s forecast for today calls for rain showers with temperatures near 40 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
There’s a chance of snow showers tonight, the weather service said.
“This would minimally qualify if the rain doesn’t come,” Daniels said of the conditions Thursday afternoon. “But I think the rain is going to get going, so … I don’t want to be a spoilsport.”
Fort Wayne had a 33 percent chance of seeing actual snowfall today based on the past 30 years, according to the National Weather Service. Fort Wayne’s chance of having 1 inch of snow on the ground for today was measured at 43 percent.
But both outcomes were unlikely as of Thursday night.
Daniels said although there might be a wintry mix overnight, temperatures were rising, meaning there was a good chance conditions would not be overly icy today. That’s good for travelers and those expecting travelers.
Lou and Sue Straw have a home on Crescent Avenue that looks made for a white Christmas.
The yard is filled with decorative reindeer and a Nativity scene while stockings adorn a fireplace, and a tree sits nicely inside.
But a white Christmas isn’t something they need, they say.
They have two dozen guests coming in the next few days, and they want them all to arrive safely.
“I want a little white Christmas, just not a lot of it,” Sue said. “Just some cover on the ground.”
Others, such as Jan Dunlop, who was skating at the Headwaters Park ice rink on Thursday, feel the same way.
The Huntington resident was planning on caroling Thursday night with friends and family, a tradition. And caroling is always good with just a touch of snow, she said.
“It’s always more fun if it’s a white Christmas,” Dunlop said. “But it’s more about family.”
Daniels, in his third year at Indiana’s NewsCenter, fielded more calls from viewers about the possibility of a white Christmas this year than ever before.
Previously, he worked in Duluth, Minn., which has a 97 percent chance of a white Christmas, according to the National Climatic Data Center.
There, few calls would ever come into the newsroom about a white Christmas because it was almost always guaranteed.
“I think there, they pretty much know you’re getting a white Christmas,” he said of Duluth and another stop, Buffalo, N.Y., which has a 57 percent chance of a white Christmas.
“I think people here are curious and they’re hopeful. They think back to how many white Christmases they’ve had, and it’s not that many.”
