LINCOLN SQUARE — Unless he enjoys getting stuck in the mud, it looks like Santa can leave the sled at home this year.
According to the National Weather Service, Christmas 2014 is shaping up to be warmer than usual in Chicago. Translation: If you were hoping for snow on the ground, you're probably going to be out of luck.
Weather service forecasts, which currently project out as far as Dec. 23, show a warming trend beginning this weekend and continuing for at least the next 10 days or so, said meteorologist Matt Friedlein.
Not that "above-normal" temps means folks will be able to bust out the shorts and tank tops.
Since 1873, Chicago has recorded just nine Christmases of 50 degrees or warmer, Friedlein said. During that same period, the city has been covered in snow on Christmas 45 percent of the time, he added.
So with apologies to Irving Berlin, technically a green Christmas is more like the ones we used to know.
According to a report issued by AccuWeather, the five major cities most likely to see a white Christmas are Minneapolis, Denver, Buffalo, Milwaukee and Detroit.
Makes sense, Friedlein said, as places like Minneapolis tend to get colder and stay colder earlier in the year than Chicago.
"They have snow and they're able to keep it on the ground," he said.
Of course, Mother Nature has been known to throw meteorologists the occasional curve ball. Whether Chicago ultimately experiences a white or green (more like brown) Christmas, one thing's for sure, Friedlein said.
"We'll post a forecast and somebody will always love it and somebody else will hate it."
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