White Christmas in New York City for 1st time in 15 years
New Yorkers are waking up to the first white Christmas in New York City in 15 years.
The National Weather Service considers it a white Christmas if there's 1 inch or more of snow on the ground at 7 a.m. on Christmas morning. The snow that fell in New York City on Tuesday morning didn't melt overnight, leaving Central Park with 1 inch recorded on the ground at 7 a.m. Wednesday.
Nebraska's football team enjoyed a snowball fight in Central Park on Wednesday ahead of their appearance in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
New York City’s last white Christmas was in 2009, when there was 2 inches of snow.
Boston is also getting a white Christmas this year, with 4 inches of snow on the ground.
Most of this snow will melt slowly because it'll be colder than normal on Christmas Day and Thursday.
Milder weather is forecast to move in by the weekend, with temperatures in the 40s in New York and 50s in Chicago.
Meanwhile, the West Coast continues to get pounded by an endless parade of storms bringing huge waves, strong winds, heavy rain and mountain snow.
In Oregon and Washington, winds could gust as high as 65 mph on Christmas.
River flooding is possible this week in western Washington and Oregon; some areas could see 6 to 12 inches of rain over the next five days.
A winter storm warning has been issued for the Cascade mountains in Washington, where up to 3 feet of snow could pile up over the next 24 to 36 hours. A winter storm watch was issued for the northern Rockies, including Wyoming and Idaho, where 2 feet of snow is possible in the next two days.
The West Coast's unusually high waves of 40 to 60 feet have subsided some, but California could still see waves reaching 20 to 30 feet on Thursday.
In the South, a new round of severe weather will move in on Thursday afternoon and evening, bringing an elevated threat for tornadoes, hail and damaging winds. Flash flooding is also possible.
Dallas, Houston and Shreveport, Louisiana, are all in the path of the severe weather.
