White Christmas in Cincinnati? Cold air moving in

It's beginning to look a lot like that time of year when we start speculating about the possibility of a white Christmas.

Snow may cause a mild panic and a raid on the bread and milk aisles of the grocery stores at any other time of year but at least since Bing Crosby crooned that wistful song in the 1942 film "Holiday Inn," at Christmas time, it evokes a yearning for the Hygge life.

The numbers show that the Greater Cincinnati region has only a 10 to 25% (and closer to 10 than 25) historical probability of seeing that magical one inch of snow on the ground on Christmas Day. But hope springs eternal.

Could Cincinnati see a white Christmas in 2022?

This year, we are hearing "whispers of cold air moving in," according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington. It is too early to talk specific snow and temperature predictions, they caution, "but confidence is very high that the entire region will observe below normal temperatures."

That gets us closer to that coveted blanket of white. Can't have snow without cold.

The most recent prediction from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center shows a 90% chance for below-normal temperatures in this region between Dec. 22 and 28.

The Ohio Valley is "favored to have temperatures reach the single digits and teens," according to the Climate Prediction Center.

That is going to feel very different from last year when we had the warmest high temperature recorded on Christmas Day − 69 degrees.

So we have the cold, what about powdery precipitation?

It's possible ... there is potential for a winter storm to hit the Northeast from Dec. 22 to 24. Currently, forecasters are calling for a slight risk of the storm bringing heavy snow to that region.