If you are looking for fresh snow by Christmas morning or are curious about potential travel disruptions, the best chances for at least 1" of new snowfall early this week exist across the mountainous West, Great Lakes, and Northeast. Otherwise, temperatures this last full week of December will average above normal for much of the lower 48 states. Read More >
Historical Chances for a White Christmas?"Will we have a White Christmas?" It is one of the big questions asked every holiday season. The graphics below were created from historical data from NOAA'S National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). It reflects the normal chance, or probability, of a White Christmas based on data from the 1981-2010 three-decade averages. A White Christmas is defined as having 1 inch or more of snow on the ground Christmas morning. The graphics provide a general sense of the likelihood of a White Christmas over the entire country and the southwest. They are based on the latest (1981-2010) U.S. Climate Normals from NOAA's NCEI. A more detailed overview of the White Christmas statistics for the Grand Junction, Colorado area can be found below. For more information regarding other locations in eastern Utah and western Colorado, Click HERE.
Grand Junction, Colorado White Christmas StatisticsIn a location that averages only 19.1 inches of snow annually, it’s not surprising that a White Christmas is rare in the Grand Valley. Only 20 Christmases have seen measurable (greater than a trace) new snowfall since 1893 (or, about 16% of the time). Only four of these days recorded more than an inch. Another definition of a White Christmas can mean the presence of snow cover on the ground (with or without snowfall that day). 32% of Christmas Days in Grand Junction’s recorded history have seen measurable snow on the ground. 41 days had an inch or more of snow on the ground on Christmas morning. It's important to understand "when" snow depths are measured in Grand Junction. For our office, the official snow depth for the day is measured at 5 am MST. So, while snow may actually fall on Christmas Day, if it doesn't fall before 5 am, it doesn't "count" in the snow depth totals for that day. However, it does count when we are talking about a White Christmas in the snowfall column. That's why we have two different "meanings" of a White Christmas - snow depth and snowfall. 2015 had the most snowfall in recorded history in Grand Junction, measuring 5.7 inches with just about all of that snow falling after 5 am. Other big snowfall years were 1983 (3.5"), 1904 (2.9"), and 1940 (2.2"). As far as snow depths, the big winner was the Christmas of 1983 when we had 7 inches of snow on the ground. And not to be outdone, 1967 and 1909 both had 6 inches of snow. The last White Christmas Grand Junction recorded was in 2018. Prior to that, we had either snow falling or snow on the ground from 2011 to 2016. You can see our official records below, we've triple checked these.
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The following is a list of the Top 10 greatest snowfall and snow depths recorded in Grand Junction on Christmas Day: |
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Highest Snowfall |
Greatest Snow Depth |
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1. | 5.7" | 2015 | 1. | 7" | 1983 | |
2. | 3.5" | 1983 | 2. | 6" | 1967, 1909 | |
3. | 2.9" | 1904 | 3. | 5" | 2008 | |
4. | 2.2" | 1940 | 4. | 4" | 2013/2012/1962 | |
5. | 0.8" | 2014 | 5. | 4" | 1932/1924/1908 | |
6. | 0.7" | 2018, 2000 | 6. | 3" | 2009/2007/1978/1963 | |
7. | 0.6" | 1913 | 7. | 3" | 1961/1919/1913 | |
8. | 0.5" | 1988 | 8. | 2" | 1998/1990/1987 | |
9. | 0.4" | 1943 | 9. | 2" | 1972/1968/1954 | |
10. | 0.3" | 2008, 1939 | 10. | 1" | 2015/2006/2000/1991 | |
11. | 0.2" | 2007, 1937, 1922 |
The last below zero temperature in Grand Junction recorded on Christmas Morning was in 1998 when the thermometer bottomed out at -1 degrees F. |