Dec 27, 2002 By Jackie Beranek/ 2 min read

While much of the region might not have gotten the large amounts of snow that were forecast, local residents saw their first white Christmas since 1995, according to the National Weather Service. The weather service said a minimum of an inch of snow fell to make it an official white Christmas.

The snow that fell on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day seemed to delight children and cause some concern for adults.

However, the white Christmas that the weather service predicted did not cause many folks to cancel on grandma.

Plans for the holiday seemed to go off without a hitch, according to weather service meteorologist Terry Parish.

“I think we got the word out in time for people to make contingency plans,” said Parish.

“Some areas didn’t get as much snow as was predicted, but I can say that we got 6 to 8 inches in the Fayette ridge area, while we only saw 2 to 4 inches in the low-lying areas.”

Parish said that annually the weather service predicts only a 17 percent chance of snow on Christmas Day.

According to Parish, the weekend is shaping up to be pretty decent. Friday’s forecast shows mostly cloudy skies with highs in the mid-30s. Friday night will be cloudy with lows near 25 degrees.

The weather service forecasts a 30 percent chance of light snow Saturday afternoon and highs of 35 to 40.

Sunday will be partly cloudy with highs in the upper 30s and lows near 30, while Monday will bring a chance of a late day shower, with highs near 40 degrees.

For New Year’s Eve, the weather service expects a chance of snow or rain, with lows near 30 and highs near 35.

The New Year’s Day forecast also shows a chance of rain and snow, with lows near 30 and highs near 35 degrees.