Christmas Day Weather History/Extremes for Grand Island

Christmas Weather History/Extremes
Grand Island, NE

The mention of Christmas often invokes visions of snow cover and cold weather. However, Christmas weather in south central Nebraska and north central Kansas doesn't always ring true to this picture. Just in the past 30 years, Christmas high temperatures in Grand Island have ranged from 11° to 62°! The tables below feature a wealth of Christmas Day weather and climate information focused specifically on Grand Island, Nebraska, where December weather records date back to 1895.

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. Only 22-of-124 Christmases on record (18%) have featured high temperatures of 50° or warmer, but FOUR of these have occurred during the last 11 years (including both 2020-21). On the opposite side of the temperature spectrum, Christmas 1983 really stands 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 HIGHS that lasted from Dec. 18-24, 1983!

Precipitation/Snowfall: In terms of active, memorable Christmas weather, there have been a few notable ones just in the past 13 years. We are now 13 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 24th-26th. CLICK HERE TO SEE A RECAP OF THE 2009 CHRISTMAS BLIZZARD. Six years ago in 2016, Christmas featured extremely active weather, but it had nothing to do with snow: Instead, an unusually mild and moist airmass fueled a line of strong thunderstorms (yes, 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! 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 2016 WEATHER

**"White Christmas" Probability:** The map below, from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), depicts the probability of having a "White Christmas" (defined as 1" or more of morning snow depth) based on normals from 1991-2020. As depicted, most of south central Nebraska and far north central Kansas carries between a 25-40% chance of having a white Christmas. Specifically in Grand Island, there have been 9 white Christmases in the past 30 years (30% of the time). The last official White Christmas was five years ago in 2017, as 4" of snow was still on the ground (which had fallen on the 23rd-24th).
What is the Historical Probability of a White Christmas? (click image for larger version)

Based on 30-year normals 1991-2020 (NOT this year's forecast!)

Grand Island	Max Temperature	Min Temperature	Precipitation
30-Year Normals (1991-2020)	37	17	0.03
10-Year Averages (2012-2021)	37.8	17.5	0.06

Grand Island NE Christmas Extremes (Since 1895)
Warmest Christmas On Record (High Temp)	62° in 1999,1963,1922
Coldest Christmas On Record (High Temp)	7° in 1983
Coldest Low Temperature	-16° in 1983,1924
Warmest Low Temperature	34° in 1959
Most Liquid Equivalent Precipitation On Record	0.51" in 2009
Snowiest Christmas Day On Record	7.8" (2009)

Top 5 Warmest Highs	Top 5 Coldest Lows	Top 5 Wettest	Top 5 Snowfall	Top 5 6 AM Snow Depth
62° (1999,1963,1922)	-16° (1983,1924)	0.51" (2009)	7.8" (2009)	20" (1968)
60° (1912)	-8° (1962,1921)	0.44" (2016)	3.0" (1941)	15" (1983)
58° (2021,1950)	-4° (1952,1948)	0.20" (1941)	2.0" (1913)	12" (1973, 1945)
56° (1960,1959)	-3° (1935)	0.17" (2015)	1.5" (2000)	10" (1952)
55° (1931)	-2° (1980)	0.10" (2000)	1.4" (2007)	8" (2009)

The Last Time _____ Happened On Christmas?

Last time high temp at least 60º: 62° in 1999

Last time high temp at least 50º: 58° in 2021 (last year)

Last time the high temp was 20° or colder: 12° in 2017

Last time the high temp was 10° or colder: 7° in 1983

Last time the low temp was 0° or colder: -1° in 1996

Last time the low temp was 30° or warmer: 31° in 1989

Last time measurable precipitation fell (0.01" or more): 0.03" in 2017

Last time measurable snow fell (0.1" or more): 0.9" in 2017

Last time the 6 AM snow depth was at least 1" (white Christmas): 4" in 2017

In the past 30 years...

- Since 1992, high temperatures on Christmas have ranged from 11° (1996) to 62° (1999)
- Since 1992, low temperatures on Christmas have ranged from -1° (1996) to 28° (2014)
- Since 1992, the high temp on Christmas has reached 50° or higher 8 times (2021, 2020, 2016, 2011, 2005,
2004,1999,1994)
- Since 1992, the low temperature on Christmas has dropped below 0° only ONCE (1996)
- Since 1992, measurable precipitation (0.01" or higher) has fallen seven times on Christmas (led by 0.51" in 2009)
- Since 1992, measurable snow (0.1" or higher) has fallen six times on Christmas (led by 7.8" in 2009)
- Since 1992, morning snow depth (at 6 AM) has been 1" or more 9 times (led by 8" in 2009)

Grand Island, NE - Christmas Day Summary...Last 10 Years
(2012-2021)

Date	Max Temperature	Min Temperature	Precipitation (Inches)	Snowfall (Inches)	Snow Depth (6AM)	Weather Conditions
12/25/2012	14	2	0.00	0.0	3	partly cloudy, cold
12/25/2013	44	21	0.00	0.0	0	sunny, breezy
12/25/2014	45	28	0.00	0.0	0	sunny, light wind
12/25/2015	31	13	0.17	0.6	1	evening thunderstorm with graupel!
12/25/2016	53	26	0.44	0.0	0	afternoon thunderstorms...evening high winds up to 75 MPH!!
12/25/2017	12	2	0.03	0.9	4	coldest Christmas avg. daily temp since 1996!
12/25/2018	39	19	0.00	0.0	0	dense fog in AM and evening
12/25/2019	32	27	Trace	0.0	0	dense fog AM, low clouds
12/25/2020	50	17	0.00	0.0	T	seasonably-mild and sunny
12/25/2021	58	20	0.00	0.0	0	sunny, warmest since 1999!
10-Year Averages	37.8	17.5	0.06	0.1