I wouldn't consider North Dakota a good spot for a white christmas...only because for the last 4 years we have not had one here. But it is a very nice place to visit!

Originally Posted by nelie:
You know I was thinking of the year I was in Vegas and there was snow on Thanksgiving. Of course I forgot, it didn't actually snow in Vegas but snowed a few miles out (and made driving back to California a nightmare).

It does snow in Vegas, but only on rare occasions. Kind of like here in Palm Desert--we have had flurries but only snow sticking a few miles out (but lots of snow around us in the mountains). My folks used to always drive here from SLC, Utah and EVERY YEAR they would run into horrible snow on their trip home. Thankfully we've finally convinced them that flying is a better traveling alternative (especially for those 80 and over!)

Come to Colorado! It's amazingly beautiful here and if we don't get snow here at 5,000 ft. you can drive up to where there will be snow! LOL!

I grew up near Buffalo, NY and we mostly had a white Christmas, but the weather has been whacky the last few years where for some, it's been 40 degrees F and raining! (Not this year, I believe...) However, Niagara Falls is beautiful with all the snow around and you get to see a natural wonder! ;)

Good luck with your travel plans and I hope you enjoy your visit wherever you go! I can't wait to make it to Australia someday!!

OH YES, now I agree with Colorado, if you want to see the beauty of the moutains, won't see any of that in the midwest.

Personally, I would suggest Denver, Colorado. Never been there, myself, but whenever I think of guaranteed snow, I'd look to the mountains.

Vermont is also very pretty in the winter. Northern Vermont, like Burlington. I live in Northern New York (like, next to Canada) and just south of us is a snow belt that gets multiple feet of snow every year. Problem is that it doesn't always start before Christmas and it isn't always pretty...mostly terrifying as if you are standing in front of the auger of a gigantic snow blower.

For a white Christmas, I'd look into Colorado, though. Vermont is pretty, but WAY out of the way if your going from California to Florida. Colorado is more of a bump northward on the southward track towards Florida.

If you're not driving, I'd look into Amtrak. But only if you're looking for adventure. Fun way to see the country without having to drive or put yourself up in a hotel...and the food is awesome. Problem is that you can't exactly take side trips on the train.

This is a map I made for you with a route from Los Angeles to Tallahassee, FL with a stop in Denver. Just so you can look at it. It puts the whole thing into perspective for you...

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/Los+Ang...:::::f:EN:m:/e

This takes you through Las Vegas and Memphis where you can see Graceland, even!! You could time your trip so you're in Denver during Christmas!

New York City wouldn't be a guarantee for a White Christmas. There have been a few years where that's happened, but the weather at that time of the year here ranges from seasonably cold to unseasonably balmy. But the decorations alone may be worth seeing and there's a lot to do with Christmas themed concerts, plays, etc.

I have no idea how accurate this is, but here's a link predicting the probability of a White Christmas in various parts of the US:

http://www.stormfax.com/whtexmas.htm

Even though we had one this past year, Denver does not typically have a white Christmas. While the mountains are very accessible, you will have to drive a little bit into them to be in a true winter wonderland.

Denver= home to the brown Christmas.

Yeah the 3 years I lived in Denver, I didn't actually see too much snow. I remember 2 snows in particular where it was particularly heavy, but other than that, snow was pretty intermittent. The mountains above Denver do have snow though throughout winter and are nice to visit.

How about the Black Hills (South Dakota)? Pretty good chance of a white Christmas, lots of stuff to see. It will be really cold, but beautiful, quiet and peaceful, hardly anyone there that time of year. We stayed in a great little cabin for our (January) honeymoon. Only problem being when you walk into a shop they look at you like "customers? what do you even do with them? we haven't seen any since september"

Well there are Winter exceptions! I live in Wisconsin (by the Great Lakes) just north of Chicago. This past Dec. on Dec. 1st we had our first major snow-storm. I think we had about 8" and it stayed. We had a record amount of snow this winter at 100". People were correct in saying that you can't depend on any one place for a white Christmas...unless you go to the mountains perhaps! How about Denver???
Oh...and we still have a few mounds of snow (where it was piled!) left yet today. It's not very pretty and with the forecast of 50 degrees (not sure what that is metric) in the next few days...it's going to completely disappear.

Just spoke with a friend in NH yesterday (Concord). They've been dumped on this year, dumping it in the river again, and now they're worrying about flooding from all the snow.

Thank you for all of your help everyone! I have decided to forego a white Christmas, for a couple of reasons. One is that we don't really have a lot of time to play with, so we don't want to end up snowed in at airports. The other is that I am really not sure how well I'd cope with the low temps. After having lost more than half my body weight, I find it extremely hard to cope with the colder weather, and by 'cold' here I am thinking anything below 15C/58F. So I may have to wait until my body is a little more adjusted.

We have decided on staying mainly around Hawaii (Mostly on Oahu), including Christmas, Las Vegas, including New Year and Orlando, Florida. We may be straying a little away from those locations for day trips, but there seems to be enough to see in the time we have.

Thank you all again for your help/advice. I've written a few ideas down for later reference.

Take care,

Zelma