Baltimore, MD – Marylanders could see one of their better chances in recent years for a white Christmas, with new NOAA long-range outlooks showing a colder and wetter pattern developing from December 13–26 — a critical window for holiday travel across the Mid-Atlantic.
According to NOAA, Maryland falls within an “Above Normal” precipitation zone stretching from Virginia through New England. This signals an active coastal storm pattern capable of sending multiple systems up the East Coast. If temperatures trend cold enough, several of these systems could bring accumulating snow to portions of the state.
Temperature trends point in a favorable direction. Most of Maryland, including Baltimore, Annapolis, and portions of the Washington suburbs, sits within a “Leaning Below Normal” temperature corridor for the second half of December. For a region often balancing the rain–snow line, even modest drops in temperature can dramatically increase the likelihood of snowfall.
According to NOAA meteorologists, the combination of colder-than-average air and increased moisture historically boosts white Christmas odds across the Mid-Atlantic. Western and northern Maryland — including Frederick, Hagerstown, and the higher elevations of Garrett County — already boast stronger holiday snow probabilities. This year’s outlook strengthens those chances and also improves prospects for central and eastern Maryland, where Christmas snow is far less common.
Specific storms cannot be forecast this far out, but forecasters highlight the December 18–24 window as potentially active for coastal and inland winter systems. Any storm that taps into the colder air mass could create travel disruptions across I-95 and I-70 just days before Christmas.
Residents planning holiday travel or gatherings should monitor updated local forecasts beginning mid-December as confidence increases in storm timing and snowfall totals.
