Stratus sandwich and odds for a white Christmas

I woke up this morning in a sea of stratus that is still hanging around this evening.  In the mountains today,  Alta was in a stratus sandwich between stratocumulus at mountain-top level and undercast that topped out at about 7000 feet over the Salt Lake Valley.

With nearly all the valley snow gone (at least around the University of Utah), and no hope of snow in sight through Christmas, dreary stratus might be the only white we have this Christmas.  Perhaps it will burn off, but stratus is notoriously stingy this time of year.