Is little Johnny getting new boots for Christmas?

Well, he's not going to be using them for a while.Sleds and snow saucers will also have to be put aside.Christmas is not going to be a white one this year. In fact, forecasters say Christmas Eve will be rainy and windy, with temperatures around 50.Accuweather's long-range forecast indicates there will be no snow through New Year's Day.It's true that just a week ago, some forecasters warned that a series of three storms were going to wallop us with snow. They also admit that predicting the weather, especially long-range forecasts, is not an exact science.The first storm was supposed to impact us this weekend with snow. That low pressure system formed further east, out in the ocean, than was anticipated.The next system will arrive Christmas Eve. Areas such as Pittsburgh, Erie, Cleveland and Buffalo will see accumulating snow. Even State College might have a white Christmas.Locally, warm gulf air will keep the precipitation to all rain.According to the National Weather Service, here's the forecast through Christmas:• Today Partly sunny, with a high near 36.• Tonight Mostly cloudy with a low around 22.• Sunday Partly sunny with a high near 37.• Monday A chance of rain late in the day. Mostly cloudy with a high near 38.• Tuesday A chance of rain. Cloudy with a high near 43.• Christmas Eve Rain. High near 47.• Christmas Day Mostly cloudy with a high near 36.The National Weather Services in Mount Holly, New Jersey, said the last time an accumulating snow fell on Christmas Day was in 2002, when over a half foot covered the area.Last year, there was a trace of snow on Christmas Eve which, because of cold conditions, remained on the ground.In 2012, nearly 2 inches of snow fell on Christmas Eve and made for a White Christmas. None fell on Christmas Day.The National Weather Service, in its records for the past 63 years, show that there were only a few White Christmases.Since 1951, the heaviest snow to fall during the Christmas season was in 1966, when over a foot of snow (13.1 inches in Allentown) fell on Christmas Eve and nearly a half inch fell on Christmas Day. The snow pack on Christmas that year was over 17 inches.Even during that brutal winter of 1995-96, no snow fell Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, and the ground had no snow on it for Christmas.Usually January and February are the heaviest snow months, so let's celebrate this reprieve while we can.