Cornell is home to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Northeast Regional Climate Center, also known as the meteorological institution that perennially crushes my dreams of having a white Christmas in southwestern Connecticut. At around this time of year, the Cornell Chronicle, without fail, releases a seasonally appropriate press release highlighting the Climate Center’s predictions as to which places in the Northeast are most and least likely to have at least one inch of snow on the ground come December 25th. Contenders for the snowiest Christmases are, not surprisingly, remote parts of New Hampshire and New York that most people have never heard of. This year’s winner, with a 95% chance of a white Christmas, is Pinkham Notch, NH. Anyone heard of it?…Anyone?
Bridgeport, CT, closest to my home of those towns and cities highlighted on the list, has a 25% chance of a white Christmas. New York City, only an hour away, has a depressingly low statistic of 12%. Ithaca, of course, ranks a bit higher coming in with a 58% chance. While nobody needs to tell me that coastal Connecticut won’t be a winter wonderland come the 25th of December, seeing the numerical proof from your alma mater just makes the truth that much harder to swallow. But we can still dream of a white Christmas, can’t we?
Do these predictions still hold after that most recent storm? Or do we just look silly now? haha
Hopefully not, but it remains to be seen if the snow will stick around until xmas. Regardless, the most recent storm definitely made things feel a lot more wintry.
I, for one, have most definitely heard of Pinkham Notch. It’s the most popular trailhead for climbing Mount Washington.