By Sarah Mahan

The Selma Times-Journal

Despite the many letters sent to Santa by local elementary school children, Selma will not be dusted in snow Christmas day in wake of rain that passed through over the weekend.

“If you’re a betting person, you always want to bet against it,” Jim Steskovish, National Weather Service meteorologist, said of the chances of a white Christmas.

Steskovish said after more than 100 years of recording weather data, Selma and the surrounding areas have only experienced snow on Christmas day twice — most recently in 2010.

Both the frozen precipitation two years ago and one other time in 1953 have been only light dustings, leaving less than one-tenth an inch and barely sticking to the ground, Steskovish said.

He added recent rain makes snow extremely unlikely in Selma and greatly increases the distance residents would need to travel to see snow on Christmas day.

“Unfortunately the storm system coming through is going to bring a lot of rain to places that have had a lot of snow, and the rain is going to cause it all to melt,” Steskovish said. “It really looks like you would have to travel to Kansas, the Midwest or the Northeast [to see snow on Christmas day].”