Region poised for white Christmas
As the song says, “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas.”
Well, this year there will be snow on the ground for Christmas.
National Weather Service forecasts about an inch of snow today, but none of the white stuff will decorate the sky Wednesday on Christmas.
As a kid’s letter to Santa Claus might ask — will the skies be clear Christmas Eve so that Santa and his team of reindeer can see where they are going? Will Rudolph need to fire up that special nose so as to better guide Santa’s sleigh through skies near and far around Fayette County?
“Putting Rudolph out in front couldn’t hurt because it will be partly cloudy that night, but the cloud cover will decrease as the night goes by,” said Tom Green, NWS meteorologist.
That’s good news for jolly old St. Nick, because as Chuck Hubbell, a Santa impersonator hailing from Connellsville, points out, the big guy dressed in red and his team of reindeer deliver presents to 822.6 houses per second. That’s more than the U.S. Post Office, UPS or Amazon, with or without any robot drones or genetically engineered flying monkeys, can boast. How is that possible?
“Can bumble bees fly?” Hubbell asks. “Books say they shouldn’t because their wings are too small and don’t flap fast enough. And the bees weigh too much. But bumble bees can’t read, so they continue to fly. That’s the magic. It’s the same with reindeer and travel on Christmas Eve. So who is to say that of all the species of animals that have yet to be identified, that it’s not possible for flying reindeer to circle the earth with Santa?”
Green said the recent warm weather had an effect on the usual winter conditions experienced during the holiday season. He said, most years, people can count on snow around Christmas time. But this year, Green said, there was a record high of 72 degrees set Sunday in Pittsburgh. Prior to that, the record high was 67 degrees, a mark set in 1949.
Fear not winter weather enthusiasts. As sure as there was a star in the sky to guide three wise men bearing gifts (not tube socks and underwear), there will be frigid temperatures needed to keep snowmen like Frosty alive. Green said temperatures will range from the teens to the mid 20s on Tuesday. Christmas will see lows in the mid 20s and highs in the mid 30s.
Technically though, even though snow is not forecast Wednesday, there will be snow on the ground — at least enough to inspire Bing Crosby enthusiasts to sing “White Christmas.”
“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas,” sang Judy Lee of Masontown with her melodic voice on Sunday evening while making holiday plans. “Just like the ones I used to know. Where the tree tops glisten; And children listen; To hear sleigh bells in the snow.”
Lee is not alone in her sentiment for that Christmas classic. “White Christmas” is the best selling single of all time with more than 100 million copies sold worldwide since it first recorded in the 1940s, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
NWS data said based on limited data, temperatures at the North Pole this week will hover around zero degrees, possibly colder. Green said sky conditions in Canada and the United States appear clear enough for Santa to deliver toys.
Santa’s team favors clear skies and snowy conditions on the ground.
“Snow helps because the sleigh is able to move without wheels spinning and having to worry about skidding and sliding across the ice,” Hubbell said. “Still, without Rudolph we can’t make it. It’s very important that he be available on a second’s notice. He may even have to join us in the mid-flight, especially if it is foggy in certain parts of the world.”
Temperatures and cloud patterns don’t factor into North American Aerospace Defense Command’s monitoring of Santa Claus across the skies. This powerful radar system has 47 installations across Canada and the United States. Kids and adults can track Santa’s journey via the Internet at noradsanta.org. Truly, this site provides the most up-to-date info as to where big guy is traveling Christmas Eve.
Speaking of the wonders of technology, anyone who has ever seen the annual broadcast of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is familiar with the Island of Misfit Toys. The island, presumably somewhere in the Arctic Circle, doesn’t appear on any maps and can’t be located using satellites, but that doesn’t matter to Santa.
“I don’t know where the Island of Misfit Toys is, but I think it is near the North Pole — somewhere up there. I think Santa will make a stop on the island,” said William Karwatske, a veteran teacher for Brownsville Area High School who teaches history, but has taught geography. Karwatske said aside from possibly revealing the secret location of the Island of Misfit Toys, he was busy planning a big family gathering at his home this week.
lways make it to Fayette County,” Hubbell said.