Will Tri-Cities have a white Christmas? Here’s the early forecast

Tri-Cities children hoping for a White Christmas this year could get their wish, according to AccuWeather’s early forecast.

The historical probability of an inch of snow on the ground on Christmas across Southeast Washington is 25% to 50%, it said.

But the probability of snow will be higher this Christmas due to La Niña.

During La Niña the water near the equator of the Pacific Ocean is cooler than average, influencing the jet stream and the track that storms take when moving across North America.

It often means a colder and wetter winter than usual for the Pacific Northwest.

“Areas in the Northwest — a region that has also been struggling with drought — are likely to have higher-than-normal chances of snowfall, especially in the higher elevations,” AccuWeather said.

Oregon and Washington are the two states most likely to have a higher-than-normal chance of a White Christmas, along with western Idaho and portions of Northern California and Nevada, it said.

“Any precipitation would be welcome in these specific parts of the West if only to buffer the areas from drought conditions during the upcoming summer,” it said.

The latest information from the U.S. Drought Monitor, compiled just before Thanksgiving, showed most on Benton and Franklin counties still in “extreme drought” and the southernmost portion of Benton County in “exceptional drought.”