Christmas Snow

Imaginings of a white Christmas flurry about in many children’s and adult’s heads as the season comes closer and closer. We all remember the movie “White Christmas” or Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” in which Christmas snow is almost a must. Without snow Christmas usually doesn’t feel the same, especially to those who grew up with it all of their life. We all want it to start snowing by midnight and continuing most of the day on the 25th. Some of us want it to snow the entire week of Christmas to New Year. To find out if it will snow in your area during Christmas you might consider the NOAA website, which offers data regarding previous years or centuries for the frequency of snow. They will also be able to give your area a local forecast.

The possibility of snow usually lies in where you live, and the current temperatures and storms in the area. Typically if you live in higher elevations, such as the mountains, there is more than a 60 percent chance of snow. Countries that are closer to the North Pole will see snow. For example England, Russia, Canada, and the upper states of North America will see snow.

For the UK snow fall can occur between November and April, much like in the US states. The climate can be a bit unpredictable, but when you have very warm air coming in from the Atlantic mixing with the air over the continent you generally get snow. Winds can also help bring the two mixtures of air together to create a snow storm. Between 1782 and 1811, which is a 30 year span, there was snow two or three days during the Christmas season. About every four years snow begins to fall before, on and after the 25th. This offers a high percentage of chance for the UK to have a snowy Christmas almost every year.