A white Christmas isn't looking likely in North Texas this year. Like the song says, if you wanted a white Christmas you will have to keep dreaming.
Despite a few brief cold snaps this season, it has been unseasonably warm. Long-range temperature forecasts for the month keep Texas warmer than normal through the end of the month.
Not only is the long-range forecast calling for warmer-than-normal temperatures this month, but the historical odds are against us. The definition of a white Christmas is 1 inch or more of snow on the ground. Most of the state of Texas has a 1-10% chance of a white Christmas.
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The Dallas-Fort Worth area has a 1% chance for a white Christmas. The northern part of the Panhandle has the highest odds for snow on Christmas Day.
Even though the chances are low, there have been some years where snow was on the ground on Christmas Day.
The National Weather Service in Fort Worth has put together a list of some of the significant Christmas snowfall events:
- 2012 - Early morning thunderstorms gave way to snow and sleet. The greatest concentration of heavy snow was in western Denton County and Collin County where 4-6" fell. There were also isolated locations that received 4-6" of snow in Parker, Grayson, Fannin, Hunt, and Rains counties.
- 2009 - Snow remained on the ground from the Christmas Eve snowstorm.
- 2000 - Record rainfall of nearly 2" fell during the evening with temperatures from 32°F to 34°F with some minor freezing rain. However, severe freezing rain occurred north and northeast of the Metroplex.
- 1997 - A few flurries were mixed with rain during the evening. The next morning a blanket of up to ½" of snow covered portions of the Metroplex.
- 1975 - 0.4" of snow fell on the first almost white Christmas in nearly 50 years.
- 1974 - A trace of sleet was reported.
- 1963 - No snow remained from a 2" snowfall on Dec. 22.
- 1926 - 2" of snow fell in Fort Worth but melted by afternoon. Dallas received 6.3" of snow.
- 1914 - There was a trace of snow recorded with a few brief flurries.
- 1879 - 1" of sleet and snow was on the ground. It was said that the snow and sleet were so compacted that a horse's hoof did not leave an imprint in the snow.
- 1841 - Three soldiers from a nearby fort were tracking a bear in 6" of snow near what is now White Rock Lake.
The warmest it has ever been on Christmas Day was in 2021. The high temperature reaches 82 degrees.
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