White Christmas 2012: Northeast Snow Surprises Maryland, Pennsylvania Residents

A white Christmas it will be for many residents of Maryland, Pennsylvania and other Northeast states that got an unexpected gift on Christmas Eve, when the skies opened up in the mid-afternoon and dropped several inches of snow across the mid-Atlantic region.

The traditional standard for dubbing an official white Christmas is for there to be an inch of snow on the ground on Christmas Day, and if it stays cold through the night -- as all signs suggest it will in these lucky states -- then in all likelihood many people will be having the kind of Christmas Bing Crosby used to croon about.

AccuWeather has a full breakdown of what people across the United States of America should expect as far as snowfall:

"It is beginning to look more like Christmas across northern New England, downwind of lakes Erie and Ontario and the central Alleghenies following the late-week winter storm and lake-effect snow."

AccuWeather predicts that among the towns that should expect snow are Williamsport and Scranton, Pa., Albany and Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Boston, Mass., and Providence, R.I.

The International Business Times reports that Western and Central Maryland got snow Monday. Parts of central and northeastern Indiana and southeastern Michigan, including Detroit, should also expect a dusting, according to AccuWeather.

Snow will likely be limited to between 2 and 4 inches no matter where in America you're spending Christmas, but it will still be a pretty thing to look at. And it may be your last chance to have a White Christmas anytime soon, as research reported on by the Associated Press indicates that the number of white Christmases has fallen precipitously (no pun intended) over recent decades.

The Weather Channel is keeping an up-to-date map showing its forecast for snow on Christmas Day this year.