Honoring Our Service Members Veterans and Their Families During the Holidays

Holiday decorations at the Naval Observatory Residence, in Washington, D.C., December 3, 2014. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

Article by James Gleeson
Washington D.C. --This holiday season, in honor of our service members, veterans, and their families, the Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden dedicated five trees at the Naval Observatory Residence representing each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. Capturing their personal experiences, military families from all across the country handcrafted the ornaments that adorn the trees. Atop each tree is a gold star, embodying the spirit, bravery, and patriotism of those who serve.
Earlier this month, Dr. Biden hosted a holiday celebration in honor of our military, veterans, and their families at the Vice President’s Residence. "We owe thanks today, and everyday, to those who wear the uniform. And we owe a debt of gratitude to their families because, as all of you know, when you have a family who serves in the military, the whole family serves too," Dr. Biden said.

Santa Claus hands out stuffed champ dogs during a holiday celebration in honor of our military, veterans and their families, at the Naval Observatory Residence, in Washington, D.C., December 3, 2014. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

Keeping with tradition, Dr. Biden -- a proud National Guard mom herself -- invited senior National Guard spouses, National Guard Family Program members, and their children to her office at the White House for a special holiday tree dedication. This marks the second consecutive year that Dr. Biden has welcomed members of our National Guard to her office for this event.

Dr. Biden places an ornament of the National Guard Memorial on a holiday tree in her office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., December 12, 2014. (Photo by SSG Michelle Gonzalez, National Guard Bureau)

The tree was decorated with 54 unique ornaments -- one from each state, territory, and the District of Columbia -- designed by the State Family Program Office in accordance with this year's theme, "Communities of Resilience." In keeping with this theme, each ornament represents its home state and Guard Families.
During this holiday season, we hope all Americans can find ways to recognize and support our service members, veterans, and their families in their communities

What's Your Chance Of A White Christmas?

Article posted by Mississippi Gazette Graphic by NOAA

Jackson,MS--For those of you dreaming of a white Christmas, this map depicts which places have the best chance of being a winter wonderland according to weather history. The “Historical Probability of a White Christmas Map” shows the climatological probability of at least 1 inch of snow being on the ground on December 25 in the lower 48 states. On the map, dark gray shows places where the probability is less than 10 percent, while white shows probabilities greater than 90 percent.

Where does history say you should be for the best chance of seeing a white Christmas? Idaho, Minnesota, Maine, Upstate New York, the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and, of course, the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada Mountains all have a high probability of seeing a white Christmas. And, Aspen, Colorado, is just one of about a dozen locations in the Northwest boasting a 100% historical probability of seeing a white Christmas.
This map is based on the 1981–2010 Climate Normals, which are the latest three-decade averages of several climatological measurements. This dataset contains daily and monthly Normals of temperature, precipitation, snowfall, heating and cooling degree days, frost/freeze dates, and growing degree days calculated from observations at approximately 9,800 stations operated by NOAA’s National Weather Service. You can find the Climate Normals for locations near you by using NCDC’s interactive map or search tool.
While the map shows the climatological probability of snow on December 25, the actual conditions this year may vary widely from these probabilities because the weather patterns present will determine if there is snow on the ground or if snow will fall on Christmas Day. These probabilities are useful as a guide only to show where snow on the ground is more likely. For prediction of your actual weather conditions, check out your local forecast at Weather.gov within seven days of Christmas.
If you would like to keep track of the snowfall across the United States on a daily basis, see the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center’s National Snow Analyses.