In 2006, a snowstorm hit the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales and Victoria, arriving on Christmas morning and bringing nearly 12 in (30 cm) of snow in higher areas.
As far as snow depths, the big winner was the Christmas of 1983 when we had 7 inches of snow on the ground. And not to be outdone, 1967 and 1909 both had 6 inches of snow. The last White Christmas Grand Junction recorded was in 2018.
They were 1906, 1917, 1923, 1938, 1956 and 1970. Snow has been a little more frequent further north with 1995 bringing immense drifting snows to Shetland and the north of Scotland bringing down power lines and cutting off communities.
It certainly did snow in Canberra one Christmas Day – could have been 1965 or 1977 as people recall. It was more than 25 years ago as I lived in Downer at the time. Another time (not Christmas, 1960s) the snow was deep enough for tobogganing in our street and on the slopes of the War Memorial.
For most of the baby boomers growing up in the Northeast, the white Christmas of 1966 likely stands out. An intense nor'easter not only blanketed coastal Virginia all the way to Maine with snow, but also lit up the sky with plenty of lightning and thunder!
The most recent occurrence was in 2021, with white Christmases also categorised for 2020 and 2017.
The ski fields of NSW or Victoria are a cheap and easy way to see real snow on Christmas Day. Mount Donna Buang in Victoria will host Christmas night markets and a street party, while Thredbo Resort offers the real deal; a Christmas buffet in the snow fields.
Southern Hemisphere
In 2006, a snowstorm hit the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales and Victoria, arriving on Christmas morning and bringing nearly 12 in (30 cm) of snow in higher areas. In New Zealand's Southern Alps, snow can fall any day of the year, and a white Christmas is possible.
The Tradition of Secret Santa
From the German 'Christkindl' (meaning “Christ Child”) the name Kris Kringel is also used in Australia and Great Britain to refer to a secret Santa gift exchange.
On average, about 37% of the Lower 48 has snow on the ground on Christmas, according to 19 years of data compiled by the NOHRSC. Since 2003, those percentages have varied widely from year to year, from 21% in 2003 to a whopping 63% of the contiguous U.S. in 2009.
Quick definitions from Wiktionary (black christmas) ▸ noun: A Christmas Day or Christmas Eve on which there is not any snowfall or ground covering of snow.
Mammoth Lakes, California
Thanks to its high elevation of nearly 8,000 feet, the town of Mammoth Lakes sees long, snowy winters. Snowfall is particularly heavy from December to March, with over 45 inches falling on average in December alone.
They assumed a travel time for Santa Claus of 12 hours, although taking into account time zones and presuming he travels from east to west, he would have an additional 24 hours to complete the task. Using these figures, Santa Claus would have to travel at a speed of 1.56 x 106 m/s. That's about 0.5% the speed of light.
Interestingly, there was only a centimetre of snow on Christmas day itself with the temperature a chilly -3.9C.
Fred Astaire was supposed to play Phil Davis. After Fred and Bing's success in Holiday Inn, this film was intended to reunite them. But Fred had "retired" by the time White Christmas was shot 12 years later and he declined.
Temperatures: According to the entire period of record, the warmest Christmas on record was 62° on three occasions (1999,1963,1922) and the coldest low temperature was -16° in both 1983 and 1924.
Does it snow in Tasmania in December? Although snowfall in the summer months is rare, elevated areas like kunanyi/Mount Wellington may occasionally experience early summer snow in December.
Snow and ice blanketed swathes of the country for more than two months and record falls were reported up and down the country. The big freeze caused severe hardships in terms of the economy and living conditions and also gave the Conservative Party leverage to attack the Labour Party in power.
Christmas of 1983 was the coldest Christmas ever with blizzard conditions across northeast Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania. The combination of the arctic cold temperatures and the wide open Great Lakes set the stage for the development of a Lake Effect blizzard.
According to our famous long-range predictions, snow is in the forecast for Christmas week in a large part of the U.S. this year. In most regions, periods of snow showers or flurries are expected to occur in the days leading up to Christmas, which means that many folks will be able to enjoy a White Christmas!
Christmas Day 1981 - Swansea City were fighting it out at the top of Division One, Human League were number one in the charts with Don't You Want Me, and the Rubik's Cube was the best-selling present. It was also the only year in the 20th century when over half of the UK experienced a white Christmas.
Principal photography took place between September and December 1953. The film was the first to be shot using Paramount's new VistaVision process, with color by Technicolor, and was one of the first to feature the Perspecta directional sound system at limited engagements.
Victoria's last perfect Christmas in 2008 resulted in snow hanging around for days.
The song, popular with school-aged kids, explains that Santa's reindeer get a rest while six white boomers (boomer is Aussie slang for a male kangaroo) lead Santa's sleigh through Australia! After all the toys are delivered, they even help a little joey (a baby kangaroo) find his mommy.