White Christmas (weather) facts for kids
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A white Christmas happens when there is snow on the ground during Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. This depends on what people in different places consider a "white Christmas." It's most common in countries in the northern part of the world. This is because December is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, so snow is very rare there. The only exceptions are places like Antarctica, the Southern Alps in New Zealand, and parts of the Andes mountains in South America.
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The Story of White Christmas
The idea of a "white Christmas" became popular thanks to the famous writer Charles Dickens. His books, like The Pickwick Papers (1836) and A Christmas Carol (1843), described Christmases covered in snow. He probably remembered his own childhood, which was during a very cold time in England.
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The song "White Christmas" also made the idea even more famous. Irving Berlin wrote it, and Bing Crosby sang it. It was in the 1942 movie Holiday Inn. This song is one of the best-selling songs ever! It talks about missing a traditional snowy Christmas and has become a holiday favorite.
What Makes a White Christmas?
The rules for a "white Christmas" can be different depending on where you are.
- In most places, it just means there's snow on the ground at Christmas.
- In the United States, the official rule is that there must be at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) of snow on the ground on December 25th.
- In Canada, you need more than 2 cm (0.8 inches) of snow on the ground on Christmas Day.
- In the United Kingdom, the official rule is that snow must be seen falling at any time on December 25th. It doesn't matter if it melts right away! So, even a little bit of snow mixed with rain counts. But if there was a lot of snow a few days before Christmas, and it's still on the ground, it doesn't count if no new snow falls on Christmas Day itself. The best places to see snow on Christmas Day in the UK are in northern Scotland.
Sometimes, if a lot of hail falls on Christmas Day and makes the ground look white, people might also call it a white Christmas. This happened in parts of Melbourne, Australia, in 2011.
White Christmas Around the World
Croatia
In Croatia, a white Christmas is not super common. In the city of Zagreb, white Christmases happened in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2007. There's about a 25% chance of a white Christmas in Zagreb. In the mountain areas of Croatia, like Gorski Kotar and Lika, the chance is much higher (50-70%). Scientists think white Christmases might become even rarer in the future due to climate change.
Ireland
In Ireland, it's usually mild and wet in early winter, so snow is rare. Snow is more common in January and February. Bookmakers (people who take bets) offer odds each year on a white Christmas. For them, it means snow must be on the ground at 9 AM on Christmas Day at either Dublin Airport or Cork Airport.
Since 1961, snow has fallen on 17 Christmas Days across Ireland. Snow was lying on the ground at 9 AM on nine of those days. The most snow ever recorded on Christmas Day was 27 cm (10.6 inches) in 2010.
North America
Canada
Most parts of Canada usually have a white Christmas every year. However, some areas, like the coast of British Columbia and parts of southern Ontario, don't always get snow for Christmas. In Canada, a white Christmas means there's 2 cm (0.8 inches) or more of snow on the ground by 7 AM on Christmas morning.
In 2006, some places like Quebec City had their first Christmas without snow in recorded history because it was so warm. But in 2008, Canada had its first nationwide white Christmas in 37 years! Storms before Christmas brought snow to almost every part of the country.
United States
In the United States, northern states often have snow at Christmas, except for the Pacific Northwest. Alaska is the most likely state to have snow. In the main part of the U.S., the best chances are in the Upper Midwest, parts of northern New England, and the higher parts of the Rocky Mountains.
Sometimes, white Christmases happen in unexpected places. For example, the 2004 Christmas Eve Snowstorm brought the first white Christmas in 50 years to New Orleans. This storm also brought the first measurable snow since 1895 to Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Mexico. The Florida winter storm of 1989 also caused a white Christmas for cities like Pensacola and Jacksonville. That same storm buried Wilmington, North Carolina under 15 inches (38 cm) of snow!
Many Americans connect the idea of a white Christmas with traditional family celebrations. The song "White Christmas" helps people remember those old-fashioned snowy holiday times.
Scientists have found that the number of white Christmases in the U.S. has gone down, especially in the Northeast, during the second half of the 1900s.
Chances of a White Christmas in North America
| City | Province | Chance (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Brandon | Manitoba | 94 |
| Calgary | Alberta | 59 |
| Charlottetown | Prince Edward Island | 78 |
| Edmonton | Alberta | 87 |
| Fredericton | New Brunswick | 76 |
| Goose Bay | Newfoundland and Labrador | 98 |
| Grande Prairie | Alberta | 86 |
| Halifax | Nova Scotia | 54 |
| Hamilton | Ontario | 62 |
| Iqaluit | Nunavut | 100 |
| Kamloops | British Columbia | 52 |
| Kelowna | British Columbia | 63 |
| Kenora | Ontario | 100 |
| London | Ontario | 68 |
| Medicine Hat | Alberta | 57 |
| Moncton | New Brunswick | 73 |
| Montreal | Quebec | 76 |
| Ottawa | Ontario | 81 |
| Penticton | British Columbia | 32 |
| Prince George | British Columbia | 92 |
| Quebec City | Quebec | 97 |
| Regina | Saskatchewan | 90 |
| Saint John | New Brunswick | 60 |
| Sarnia | Ontario | 59 |
| Saskatoon | Saskatchewan | 94 |
| Stephenville | Newfoundland and Labrador | 81 |
| St. John's | Newfoundland and Labrador | 65 |
| Sudbury | Ontario | 94 |
| Thunder Bay | Ontario | 97 |
| Timmins | Ontario | 98 |
| Toronto | Ontario | 46 |
| Vancouver | British Columbia | 10 |
| Victoria | British Columbia | 11 |
| Whitehorse | Yukon | 100 |
| Wiarton | Ontario | 81 |
| Windsor | Ontario | 46 |
| Winnipeg | Manitoba | 98 |
| Yellowknife | Northwest Territories | 100 |
Poland
The last white Christmas in Kraków, Poland, was in 2010. Rzeszów had a white Christmas in 2016, which was its first since 2011.
Romania
White Christmases have been rare in Romania recently. This is because of Romania's location and changes in the climate. Heavy snow usually starts in January and ends in early March. However, in high mountain areas, white Christmases are still common.
| Location | Chance |
|---|---|
| Bucharest | 75% |
| Iași | 80% |
| Timișoara | 70% |
| Cluj Napoca | 85% |
| Constanţa | 65% |
| Miercurea Ciuc | 90% |
| Craiova | 75% |
| Braşov | 85% |
| Satu Mare | 75% |
United Kingdom
| Location | Chance |
|---|---|
| London | 9% |
| Birmingham | 13% |
| Aberporth | 8% |
| Glasgow | 11% |
| Aberdeen | 23% |
| Belfast | 14% |
| Lerwick | 38% |
| Bradford | 14% |
| St Mawgan | 10% |
In the United Kingdom, white Christmases were more common between the 1550s and 1850s. This was during a very cold period called the Little Ice Age. The last time the River Thames froze enough for a "frost fair" was in the winter of 1813–14.
The official definition of a white Christmas in the UK is when "one snowflake is seen falling in the 24 hours of 25 December somewhere in the UK." By this rule, more than half of all years have white Christmases. However, a "traditional" white Christmas with snow covering the ground is less common. It has only happened four times in 51 years (up to 2015) where snow was on the ground at 9 AM at more than 40% of weather stations.
Even though most places in the UK get some snow in winter, it usually falls in January and February. On average, a white Christmas happens every 6 years.
Christmas 2009 was white in some parts of Britain, with thick snow. Travel was difficult because of ice and snow. It was the first white Christmas in the UK since 2004. There was another white Christmas in 2010, which was also the coldest Christmas Day ever recorded in the United Kingdom. In 2014, parts of the Northern Isles had a white Christmas, and in 2017, northern England and southern Scotland had one too.
White Christmas in Other Parts of Europe
In Europe, snow at Christmas is common in countries like Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, and northeastern Poland. The warm Gulf Stream ocean current makes western Europe milder, so white Christmases are less likely there. For example, snow is rare in southern France, but much more likely in Bucharest, Romania, even though they are at similar latitudes. Northern Italy and the mountain regions of central-south Italy can also have white Christmases. In cities like Turin or Milan, it's not unusual to see snow falling or on the ground at Christmas. White Christmases are also common in the Carpathian Mountains and the Alps.
White Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere
Christmas happens during the summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Because of this, white Christmases are very rare there. The main exception is Antarctica, which is mostly uninhabited. A white Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere is like having snow in the Northern Hemisphere on June 25th! However, some places like Ushuaia, Argentina, and Stanley, Falkland Islands have had snow on Christmas Day many times.
In 2006, a snowstorm hit the Snowy Mountains in Australia on Christmas morning. It brought almost 12 inches (30 cm) of snow to higher areas.
In New Zealand's Southern Alps, snow can fall any day of the year, so a white Christmas is possible there. The same is true for the Andes mountains at very high elevations (above 4000 meters or 13,000 feet). Some places in Bolivia, like El Alto, could theoretically have a white Christmas.
See also
In Spanish: Blanca Navidad (tiempo) para niños
