It beginning to look a lot like rain for Christmas. The National Weather Service is putting the chances at 50 percent, with daytime highs well into the 40s. Christmas Eve could slip into the 50s. It's always a disappointment for Baltimore, but never a surprise to pass another Yuletide with asphalt rather than snow beneath Santa's runners. Only one in ten Christmases in Baltimore sees snowfall, and just one in four dawns with snow on the ground.

The weather service forecasters out at Sterling have assembled their annual statistical rundown on the chances for white Christmases in Baltimore, and a host of other Christmas weather trivia. Clip and save, and when the conversation flags at your office holiday party, you can amaze your friends with your Christmas weather expertise.

                        *** BALTIMORE ***

IF YOU EXAMINED THE WEATHER RECORDS FOR ALL 121 OF BALTIMORE'S
CHRISTMASES SINCE 1893 (WHEN SNOWFALL RECORDS BEGAN)... IT WOULD
SHOW A TYPICAL CHRISTMAS DAY IS PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A FROSTY EARLY
MORNING LOW OF 28 DEGREES AND AN AFTERNOON HIGH OF 43 DEGREES.
HOWEVER... FROM YEAR TO YEAR THE WEATHER CAN BE ANYTHING BUT
TYPICAL.

FOR THOSE WHO LIKE IT COLD... THE COLDEST WAS IN 1983 WHEN THE
TEMPERATURE FELL TO ZERO DEGREES. THAT WAS A COLD DAY INDEED AS IT
ALSO PRODUCED THE COLDEST HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE DAY... A FRIGID
12 DEGREES THAT AFTERNOON. THE FIVE COLDEST LOWS WERE:

           1983-  0 DEGREES
           1989-  7 DEGREES
           1980-  7 DEGREES
           1960- 12 DEGREES
           1998- 13 DEGREES

HOW ABOUT A WARM CHRISTMAS? THE WARMEST WAS A TOASTY 72 DEGREES IN
1964... WITH THE WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE OF 48 DEGREES ON THE SAME
DAY. THE FIVE WARMEST HIGHS WERE:

           1964- 72 DEGREES
           1982- 70 DEGREES
           1932- 67 DEGREES
           1893- 67 DEGREES
           1965- 65 DEGREES

FOR SNOW LOVERS... A WHITE CHRISTMAS IS SOMEWHAT OF A RARITY IN THE
BALTIMORE AREA. INTERESTINGLY... ONE OF THOSE RARE EVENTS OCCURRED
THREE YEARS AGO WHEN A GENERALLY RAINY CHRISTMAS MORNING CHANGED
TO SNOW AT THE END OF THE EVENT DURING THE LATE MORNING HOURS. THERE
WAS ENOUGH TO MEASURE ONE INCH. THE FIVE SNOWIEST CHRISTMASES WERE:

           1909- 9.3 INCHES
           1969- 6.1 INCHES
           1902- 3.0 INCHES
           1962- 2.9 INCHES
           1935- 1.2 INCHES

A TOTAL OF 12 CHRISTMASES OUT OF 122 REPORTED MEASURABLE SNOW. THAT
AVERAGES OUT TO ABOUT 1 WHITE CHRISTMAS EVERY 10 YEARS... ONLY 10
PERCENT.

IF YOU INTERPRET A WHITE CHRISTMAS AS MEASURABLE SNOW ON THE GROUND
(AT LEAST A TENTH OF AN INCH)... THAT IMPROVES THE ODDS SOMEWHAT.
TWENTY NINE TIMES SNOW WAS ON THE GROUND CHRISTMAS DAY THAT EITHER
FELL THAT DAY... OR WAS ON THE GROUND FROM A PREVIOUS STORM. THAT
AVERAGES OUT TO ABOUT 1 WHITE CHRISTMAS EVERY 4 YEARS... 25 PERCENT.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO USE CHRISTMAS PAST TO GAUGE CHRISTMAS FUTURE:

           2004 -->  HI 31  LOW 17  MOSTLY SUNNY AND COLD
           2003 -->  HI 42  LOW 28  MOSTLY SUNNY AND BLUSTERY
           2002 -->  HI 38  LOW 32  RAIN WITH SOME SNOW/SLEET
           2001 -->  HI 40  LOW 23  PARTLY SUNNY AND COOL
           2000 -->  HI 27  LOW 17  SUNNY BREEZY AND COLD
           1999 -->  HI 32  LOW 14  MOSTLY SUNNY AND COLD
           1998 -->  HI 33  LOW 13  SUNNY AND COLD
           1997 -->  HI 56  LOW 41  PARTLY CLOUDY WITH RAIN SHOWERS


HAPPY HOLIDAYS!