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Heat Builds in the West; Extremely Critical Fire Weather in the Northwest

A heat wave over the Southwest will intensify this week, peaking and expanding into the Intermountain West and northern High Plains this weekend. Critical to extremely critical fire weather conditions are forecast from the Northwest and the northern Great Basin this weekend. Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warnings have been issued. Read More >

Information about the last time there was a white Christmas and other bits of Christmas climatological information for the observing sites at Tulsa, Fayetteville, and Fort Smith can be found on our Christmas climatology webpages.

On any given year, what is the historical probability of seeing a White Christmas?  The following graphics from the National Centers for Environmental Information show these probabilities for the entire country.  Additional information is available here.  For this year, check out the latest NWS Tulsa forecast for your location at www.weather.gov/tsa

A White Christmas, defined as at least 1" of snow depth on Christmas morning, just doesn't happen that often in eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas, generally around 5 percent of the time, except for locations near the Kansas and Missouri borders.  Tulsa and Fayetteville have a 7% chance of having a white Christmas each year, while Fort Smith has a 2% chance.  The last White Christmas occurred in 2012 in Fort Smith and 2009 in Tulsa and Fayetteville.  

Probability of Seeing a White Christmas
Click the image above for an interactive map.

Climatology of Seeing a White Christmas

 

Last updated: January 26, 2026