You would think that if you live in the upper half of the U.S. or Canada your chances for snow on Christmas would be pretty good. However, that’s not always the case. And sometimes, it’s assumed that those living in the south will never have a white Christmas but that’s not true either. For example, in 1963, Memphis had ten inches of snow on Christmas Day and Nashville had six. It just goes to show that it can be hard to predict who exactly will be getting snow on Christmas. However, with historical records and trends, it’s possible to get a pretty close idea. There is even a white Christmas tool that uses historical data to make predictions for any area in the U.S. or Canada.
How Much Snow Is Required To Declare That It’s a White Christmas?
Did you know that there is an official amount of snow required on the ground to call it a white Christmas? That little dusting of snow on Christmas morning doesn’t even cut it in the U.S. and Canada. For a truly white Christmas in the U.S., there needs to be at least an inch or two and a half centimeters on the ground. In Canada, the measurement drops just slightly to over two centimeters. In other countries, like the U.K., snow just has to be observed falling to constitute a white Christmas. Regardless of what is determined to be an official amount of snow for a white Christmas, most of us are happy if we can at least see some snowfall—even a dusting.
White Christmas Prediction Tool
This tool makes it really easy to get a pretty good prediction on whether or not you will have snow on Christmas. Just choose your country and then the city closest to you from the drop-down menus, along with the date of Dec. 25. The tool then calculates the probability of getting at least one inch of snow. It also tells you the typical snow depth, probability of snowfall and typical snowfall for your area.
What Are the Chances of Having a White Christmas?
According to the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the best chances of getting snow are in areas of Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Maine, the upper peninsula of Michigan, Minnesota, Wyoming, Wisconsin, upstate New York, the Allegheny mountains of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and the western Rockies and Sierra mountains. This isn’t too surprising as they are northern or high-elevation areas. The results are based on a three-decade average. However, other than those typical cold areas, it doesn’t look too promising for the rest of the country. In recent years, we have had lower-than-normal snowfall. In 2021, we had the warmest December on record with only 26.6% of the contiguous U.S. having a white Christmas.
Highest Chances of Christmas Snow by City
Aspen, Colorado - a 100% historical chanceFairbanks, Alaska - a 100% historical chanceAnchorage, Alaska - 96% historical chanceCrested Butte, Colorado - 99% historical chanceSilverton, Colorado - 99% historical chanceSteamboat Springs, Colorado - 98% historical chanceTelluride, Colorado - 97%Ouray, Colorado - 93%Ketchum, Idaho - 97%Marquette, Michigan - 96%Duluth, Minnesota - 92%Bozeman, Montana - 91%Ogden, Utah - 91%Lake Placid, New York - 87%
If you absolutely must have a white Christmas, your best bet is to visit one of those cities where you are almost guaranteed to see snow. Next Up: Grab Your Passport! 10 Travel Influencers Share their Christmas Getaway Ideas
