As predicted by AccuWeather.com Chief Long Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi, snowcover across the contiguous U.S. should reach 50 percent by Christmas Day.

A stormy and very cold start to December has built up a snowcover that currently spans almost 45 percent of the Lower 48. Prospects for more storms over the next 10 days means that 50 percent or better of the country will have at least an inch of snow on the ground. 

As you can see on our White Christmas map, we expect a solid snowcover from the Midwest through the Great Lakes and Northeast. In the West, the snowcover will be confined to the Rockies, Cascades and Sierras. 

While we do not expect any major snowstorms on Christmas Day, snow will be in the air around the Great Lakes as well as parts of the Appalachians and Ohio Valley.