Trending
A glance at the calendar reminds us that Christmas is a little more than two weeks away. That makes it a good time to look at some numbers many of us will be thinking about.
≤ It's natural when you live in our part of the country to think about the possibility of having a white Christmas. But while nearly everyone has a memory of snow falling on Christmas Day, the reality is it probably won't happen.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, historical probability shows there is a 31 percent chance of there being an inch of snow on the ground at the weather station at Pittsburgh International Airport on Christmas Day.
No one will go so far as to say there will or won't be a white Christmas this far out, but NOAA and the National Weather Service are predicting that our region likely will experience warmer temperatures than normal and a little less snowfall than normal for the entire winter season. Accuweather offers just about the same forecast, and says that while it's likely we will have more than last year's 17.6 inches of snow, the predicted snowfall of between 28 and 36 inches will still be lower than our region's average of 44.1 inches.
So, just about everyone who has issued a winter forecast has said the same thing, it's worth looking at the almanacs to get a different view of what might lie ahead. And their forecasts differ from most of the others.
For example, Old Farmer's Almanac, which was founded in 1792, is predicting a cold and snowy winter for our part of the country, while Farmers' Almanac, which has only been around since 1818, is calling for a cold and stormy winter in our region.
Old Farmer's says we can expect rainy and mild weather between Dec. 22 and Dec. 25, before snowy and cold weather moves in between Dec. 26 and Dec. 31.
Farmers', meanwhile, is calling for a wintry mix between Dec. 20 and Dec. 23, mixed rain and snow between Dec. 24 and Dec. 27 and fair skies Dec. 28-31.
While it's easy to dismiss the accuracy of the almanacs, it is interesting to note that Farmers' was dead on when it came to predicting the wintry blast we had at the end of November. Its forecast had called for heavy lake effect snows to hit the region between Nov. 28 and Nov. 30. Old Farmer's, meanwhile, had called for rainy and mild weather for the period of Nov. 26 through Nov. 30.
≤ One of the items almost everyone can expect to get a little more of through the Christmas holiday is candy.
According to the annual survey by the online candy seller CandyStore.com, 93 percent of people plan to gift chocolate and candy this year. That makes it appropriate, then, that Dec. 26 has been designated as National Candy Cane Day.
Speaking of candy canes, 72 percent of people start eating them from the straight end. However you prefer to eat a candy cane, it will not be hard to find one -- there are, the survey says, 1.76 billion candy canes produced each year. That is a whole lot more than the 150 million chocolate Santas that are made each year.
In our region, the top three choices in Ohio are chocolate Santas, Hershey Kisses and peppermint bark. In West Virginia, the top three are peppermint bark, Pez and Starburst. And, in Pennsylvania, the top three are Reese's Cup Minis, candy canes and reindeer corn.
And, where there is a list of most popular candies, you also will find a list of the least popular candies. It's not broken down by state, but, according to CandyStore.com, the 7,000 customers it surveyed came up with the worst Christmas candies: No. 10 is peppermint bark, No. 9 is chocolate oranges, No. 8 is the Lifesaver Story Book, No. 7 is the old-fashioned hard candy mix, No. 6 is ribbon candy, No. 5 is Peeps, No. 4 is non-peppermint candy canes, No. 3 is the chocolate-covered cherry cordial and No. 2 is Christmas nougat.
That means the worst candy for Christmas is reindeer corn. Earning honorable mention is the candy cane -- it seems like everyone really likes or really doesn't like them.
≤ Along with worrying about the weather around Christmas and what candy needs to be purchased, a decision has to be made about what type of Christmas tree to choose -- real or artificial.
According to the National Christmas Tree Association, there are between 25 million and 30 million real trees sold in the United States each year. There are, the numbers show, about 15,000 farms growing Christmas trees in the U.S., with about 100,000 people employed full- or part-time in the process that covers about 350,000 total acres. Right now, there are 350 million Christmas trees growing in the United States.
Oregon is the top state for Christmas tree production, with 4,714,298 trees cut, according to numbers compiled by World Population Review. The rest of the top five includes North Carolina (4,031,864), Michigan (1,551,185), Pennsylvania (1,050,159) and Wisconsin (700,341.) Ohio is 10th on the list with 155,572 and West Virginia is 22nd at 42,830.
Live trees still outsell artificial trees. The American Christmas Tree Association reports that according to information from Neilsen Research, there will be 21.6 million real trees sold this year and 12.9 million artificial trees.
≤ And, if you are going to be making that trek to get a live tree, AAA East Central --which serves 2.7 million members in a coverage area that includes the Tri-State Area as well as Kentucky and New York -- offers a reminder to make sure your tree is properly secured to your vehicle before you try to transport it.
Risks are real -- there have been more than 200,000 crashes involving tree debris on U.S. roads during the last four years, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Those have resulted in 39,000 injuries and 500 deaths. An improperly secured tree can lead to $1,500 in repairs, AAA reports.
Just some things to think about as the countdown to Christmas continues.
(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times)