Christmas Weather History/Extremes for Grand Island, NE (1895-2023)

The mention of Christmas often invokes visions of snow cover and cold weather. However, Christmas weather in south central Nebraska certainly doesn't always ring true to this picture. Just in the last 30 years, Christmas high temperatures in Grand Island have ranged from 11° to 62°! This story features a wealth of Christmas Day weather and climate information focused specifically on Grand Island, where December weather records date back 129 years to 1895 (official weather data recorded at Central Nebraska Regional Airport since 1938).

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 1983/1924. Only 22-of-126 Christmases on record (17%) have featured high temperatures of 50° or warmer, but four of these have occurred in the last 13 years (including both 2021/2020). On the opposite end of the temperature spectrum, only 10-of-128 Christmases on record (8%) have featured sub-zero low temperatures (most recently two years ago in 2022). Christmas 1983 truly stood out on the bitterly cold side of things, with a high temperature of only 7° and a bone-chilling low of -16°. Despite how cold Christmas 1983 was, that day actually broke an unprecedented streak of seven consecutive days of BELOW ZERO TEMPS that lasted from Dec. 18-24, 1983!

Precipitation/Snowfall: As for liquid precipitation equivalent (which includes any melted snowfall), only 16-of-129 Christmases (12%) have featured measurable precipitation. In terms of active, memorable Christmas weather, there have been a few notable ones just in the last 15 years (and not just snowfall!). Just last year, Christmas 2023 featured a moderately-impactful winter storm with at least a few hours of near-blizzard conditions. Going a bit farther back, we are now 15 years removed from the major Christmas blizzard of 2009! This memorable storm dumped 7.8" of wind-whipped snow on Grand Island during the calendar day, and 9.1" of storm-total snow between the 24-26th. CLICK HERE FOR A RECAP OF THE 2009 CHRISTMAS BLIZZARD. Eight years ago in 2016, Christmas featured extremely active weather, but it had nothing to do with snow...as instead, an unusually mild and moist airmass fueled a line of strong thunderstorms during the afternoon hours. Then just a few hours later during the evening, an unusually strong and long-lasting high wind event occurred, featuring at least 2-3 hours of sustained westerly winds frequently 30-50 MPH and a peak gust of 75 MPH at Central Nebraska Regional Airport! These winds caused considerable, mainly minor damage not only within Grand Island but also across much of south central Nebraska. CLICK HERE FOR A RECAP OF THE "CRAZY" CHRISTMAS WEATHER OF 2016
 

What Is The Historical Probability Of A White Christmas?

Based On 30-Year Normals (1991-2020) -- Click HERE for Interactive Map

Grand Island White Christmas History (1954-2023)

 **2023 Christmas Recap for Grand Island (winter storm brings biggest Christmas snow event since 2009!)

Although snowfall amounts admittedly fell short of what was initially forecast, Christmas 2023 nonetheless featured the most impactful Christmas Day winter weather event in 14 years (since the major Christmas 2009 blizzard). 

Officially, the NWS observer near Central Nebraska Regional Airport recorded 2.5" of snow for the day (melted liquid equivalent of 0.26"), although various reports from within the city itself suggested closer to 4-5" (even with the somewhat modest official snowfall/precipitation amounts, Christmas 2023 still ended up as the 3rd snowiest/wettest Christmas on record in Grand Island!). However, snow was only part of the story, as moderately-strong north-northwest winds were commonly sustained around 20 MPH/gusting 30-35 MPH...reducing visibility to under one-half mile at times and promoting near-blizzard conditions (the peak wind gust for the day was 38 MPH). Timing-wise, snow first got underway during the pre-dawn hours (around 2 AM), then remained steady through most of the day before mostly-ending by 5 PM. Wind speeds then gradually lessened during the evening...easing to under 10 MPH by 11 PM. 

Temperature-wise, the day was actually not all that remarkable by late-December standards. The official high temperature of 31° actually occurred extremely early in the calendar day (1206 AM), as most of the daylight hours only averaged in the mid-20s (including the official low temperature of 24° at 138 PM). 

Lastly, thanks to 1" of fresh snow on the ground by 6 AM, Grand Island officially recorded a "White Christmas" for the second straight year (back-to-back White Christmases had not occurred since 2008-09). 

Christmas Normals/Extremes for Grand Island (1895-2023):

The 10 Most Recent Christmases in Grand Island (2014-2023):