(Photo Kris Horvath - CC BY 2.0)

Snow on the Sierra Nevada mountains in 2010.

Southern Arizonans dreaming of a white Christmas will have to keep dreaming.

Weather forecasters say the Western United States will see a potent storm Christmas week, bringing snow to the Sierra Nevada mountains and higher elevations in Arizona and rain throughout much of the rest of the region.

For the 28th year in a row, Tucson and desert environs will see what we see most days — beautiful desert landscapes with no snow cover. In fact, most of the United States will be without snow.

"Very little white Christmas east of the Mississippi, east of the Rockies," said Stephen Baxter, a seasonal forecaster with the National Weather Service.

Snow tires not needed when going to grandmother’s house this week.