I’m dreaming of a green Christmas?

As strange as it may seem, the weather across the Bradford area
will likely be more suitable for mowing grass than Santa’s reindeer
as the holiday approaches.

On Thursday – the first day of winter – National Weather Service
Meteorologist Mike Dangelo from the agency’s Penn State Bureau,
said there is “an outside chance” of any accumulating snowfall on
or near Christmas day.

“There is a slight chance of snow for the end of Christmas day
or on Tuesday,” Dangelo said. “It’s a real outside chance right
now. Maybe an inch would fall, at the most.”

Dangelo said if any snow does arrive, it would likely be
centered directly over the Bradford area; locations to the east and
west would be too warm for any wintery precipitation.

“We really have been above normal with the wind coming in from
the west and northwest,” Dangelo said. “That has made it more mild
and we haven’t seen as much lake effect action as we would normally
have.”

So far this year, Dangelo said only two prolonged cold snaps
have occurred across the region.

“This is really normal for an El Niio winter in Pennsylvania,”
Dangelo said, adding “it will get colder. January and February are
usually are coldest months of the winter.”

The precipitation figures for the Bradford area seem to bear
that out.

According to an official with the Bradford City Water Authority,
which keeps a record of precipitation levels at its water treatment
plant in Bradford Township, the amount of rain has outnumbered snow
between October and December.

All told, the Tuna Valley has experienced 12.29 inches of rain
compared to 8.4 inches of snow over the past three months, records
indicate.

Of that, 7.95 inches of rain fell in October, 2.94 in November
and 1.4 inches thus far in December. Meanwhile, 3 inches of snow
fell in November, a trace in October and 5.4 inches in
December.

This month alone, the temperature rose above 50 degrees on five
occasions, reaching a high-water mark of 57 on Dec. 1. It was in
the 40s seven other times. By comparison, it only reached into the
40s a total of three times last December – with numerous instances
of negative temperatures reported during the evening that
month.

Dangelo said any precipitation that will fall over this weekend
will come in the form of rain. A storm moving through the area
today will bring steady rain until Saturday.

An Associated Press weather report issued Thursday indicates
most sunny skies will creep into the area on Sunday, with highs
reaching the upper 30s. For Christmas day, clouds will enter the
picture again, with a chance of rain or snow showers and highs
nearing 40.

Snow showers appear in the forecast again for Christmas night,
before temperatures begin to climb again during the early part of
next week.