Green and wet Christmas likely for Windsor-Essex this year

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Don’t be disappointed if Christmas Day in Windsor-Essex this year doesn’t look perfect.

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Most regional forecasts predict a rainy December 24 and December 25 with temperatures well above normal, making the chances of a white Christmas close to zero.

According to Environment Canada meteorologists, Christmas Eve in Windsor-Essex will see periods of rain, with a night temperature of 6 C.

On Christmas Day, there will be cloudy skies and a maximum temperature of 7 C.

The Weather Network forecast is no more festive, indicating a 40 percent chance that rain will continue through Christmas morning, and a 60 percent chance that it will rain on Christmas afternoon.

AccuWeather’s predictions for December 25 in the Detroit area are even less Christmassy, ​​suggesting a warmer 8 ° C temperature and an 80 percent higher chance of rain.

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In fact, humid conditions and temperatures several degrees above normal are expected to continue in Windsor-Essex through Christmas weekend and into the following week.

But the Windsorites should be used to Green Christmas by now. Based on historical weather data from Environment Canada, taking into account conditions from December 25, 1955 to 2017, our area’s chances of a White Christmas are typically around 46 percent.

In the past 60 years, you can count the number of times Windsor-Essex has had “perfect” Christmas conditions, defined by Environment Canada as at least an inch of snow on the ground, with snowfall on the morning of December 25. on the one hand.

That being said, the most recent occurrence of “perfect” Christmas weather in Windsor-Essex was last year – on the morning of December 25, 2020, local residents woke up to find an inch to two inches of white on the ground. , with scales. in the air.

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What was the whitest December 25 in Windsor-Essex meteorological history? Environment Canada says it happened in 1944, when 9.9 centimeters of snow fell on our city and region on Christmas Day.

A year later, Windsor-Essex would set its record for its wettest Christmas Day – a total of 23.9 millimeters of rain on December 25, 1945.

Another landmark note for Windsor-Essex was December 25, 2000, when there was 9 inches of snow on the ground, the most snow on the ground our area has ever had on Christmas Day.