Dear Crabby, Will Southeast Michigan Have a White Christmas?

Dear Crabby,

This week is Christmas and what I really want to know right now is whether or not it’s going to be a White Christmas for those of us living in southeastern Michigan. What are your old bones telling you?

Thanks!

Irv B. Lin

Dear Irv B. Lin,

First of all, whippersnapper, ease up on the ‘old bones’ talk. Second, you bet your Bing Crosby it’s going to be a White Christmas! Well, sort of. Let me explain.

Dear Crabby sits infront of his laptop
Dear Crabby Gives Advice

I have a feeling what you and many other folks are after is a White Christmas along the lines of what is romanticized in the movie of the same name. Sadly, unless you live in the upper peninsula, I think you’re going to be out of luck. By definition, a White Christmas is a snow depth of at least one inch by 7:00 a.m. Christmas morning. From what those talking heads have been saying on the news, we should have at least a couple of inches of snow by the time your family is ready to rip through their presents. But mostly it looks like it will be cold and miserable looking. Hope no one on your list asked for any sleds, skis, or the like. By now, none of us should really be surprised by this since 2020 has been giving us a big lump of coal all year long. For now, we’ll have to be content with remembering the snowfalls of Christmases past.

Join me as we journey all the way back to Christmas 2017. Michigan was slammed by a storm on Christmas Eve that left around six inches of snow in most areas. Now that’s a White Christmas worth humming a few bars about. But if you want to talk about big snow (second snowiest in Michigan history), or the whitest Christmas (most snow actually on the ground), then that honor goes to the Christmas of 1951. By the time Michiganders were slipping into their cocoa comas, over a foot of snow was covering the ground. Now before someone jumps in to tell me I’m wrong, these numbers are based on Detroit records, which is where I lived in 1951. At that age I barely paid any attention to anything north of 8 Mile Road. That was considered the sticks, so the numbers may have been higher out there. But if you’re hoping for that kind of White Christmas this year I’d say you’re S.O.L. – Snow Outta Luck. See what I did there?

No matter how much snow we have, come Christmas day I’ll be in my favorite La-Z-Boy doing absolutely nothing … except possibly playing Hallmark Christmas Movie Bingo.

‘Tis the season!

Dear Crabby

Stuck in a rut? Need some biased advice from a crabby old baby-boomer? Then email me your question at dearcrabby@rochestermedia.com. You can also head on over to my Facebook page and tell me how wonderful I am.

About Dear Crabby

Stuck in a rut? Need some biased advice from a crabby old baby-boomer? Read regularly by thousands and loved by some, Dear Crabby answers questions weekly to life's challenges. Send him a note at editor@rochestermedia.com.

Comments

  1. Fortunately, Michigan ended up having a beautiful White Christmas! I was watching the weather news constantly to see if it will actually happen and it did! I was able to drive around and take some photos of the beautiful snow that I posted here: https://matthewtrader.com/photos-a-white-christmas-in-holland-michigan

Speak Your Mind

*