Temperatures will plunge for Christmas, but could it be a white one?

Snow covered much of the area, including this tree and Christmas ornament near Fairborn, after the Miami Valley's first snowfall of 2020 on Nov. 30. MARSHALL GORBY/STAFF

Credit: MARSHALL GORBY/STAFF

Credit: MARSHALL GORBY/STAFF

Snow covered much of the area, including this tree and Christmas ornament near Fairborn, after the Miami Valley's first snowfall of 2020 on Nov. 30. MARSHALL GORBY/STAFF

Winter officially began Monday, bringing with it a Christmas week forecast that is pure Ohio: Rain, then snow, temperatures in the 50s at times and dropping 30 degrees by the holiday.

Perhaps the most important bit for some people, however, is the chance for snow on the ground for the holiday Friday.

The National Weather Service in Wilmington tweeted Monday morning: “Rain develops later Wednesday, changes to snow Wednesday night and Thursday. The potential exists for a white Christmas. Stay tuned!”

Tuesday should be partly sunny with a high of 41 degrees.

Wednesday’s high will rise to 53 degrees, but a chance of rain develops in the afternoon. And from Wednesday night into Thursday morning, rain will turn to snow, with snow ending by 9 a.m.

The rest of Thursday, Christmas Eve, will be mostly cloudy with a high of 37.

The temperature continues to drop into Friday with a high of only 22 for Christmas, which is well below normal. Partly sunny skies are predicted by the NWS.

The holiday weekend should be warmer, with the forecast calling for mostly sunny skies and a high of 31 Saturday and mostly cloudy skies Sunday with a high of 39.

The Courthouse Square Christmas tree in Dayton glows brightly on a rainy and cold Monday Dec. 21, 2020. It is also the winter solstice, the longest night of the year and the official start of winter. Jim Noelker/Staff

Credit: JIM NOELKER/STAFF

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Credit: JIM NOELKER/STAFF

A White Christmas is when at least one inch of snow is on the ground on Christmas day. It does not actually have to snow on the holiday to count as a White Christmas.

According to Dayton Daily News archives, in southwest Ohio, Dayton and Cincinnati statistically only experience a White Christmas about 20 to 30 percent of the time.

The record snow depth on Christmas day occurred in 2004. Cincinnati had a snow depth of 9 inches and Dayton of 16 inches from a snowfall a few days earlier, according to our archives.