Snow for Christmas? Who knows?
Photo by Jan Fischer Bachman
By Dolly Dearner
Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? Well, dream on; you’re in Oklahoma. But wait - is it unrealistic to hope for snow on Christmas?
Since the beginning of weather records in 1891, Oklahoma City has seen snow on Christmas 12 times, according to News 9 (December 17, 2012). Some of those rare occurrences were listed as “traces” (an amount too small to be measured by standard methods, usually less than 0.1 inch). However, a few years stand out with enough snow for a brief Currier and Ives fantasy landscape.
Traces of snow were recorded in 1913, 1939, 1962, 1983, 1987, and 1990. Only four years apart, 1914 and 1918 saw 6” and 5” inches of snow, respectively. The Daily Transcript (forerunner to the Norman Transcript) acknowledged the 1914 snowfall with a short lyrical blurb on the front page (Dec. 26), describing “…a pure whiteness that was very beautiful. It was real Christmas weather, such as you read about.”
Four years later, the snow news was more unsettling. The front page of the Oklahoma City Times announced: “Scores Marooned Here by Heavy Snowfall at Points West of City.” In the downtown Rock Island passenger depot, travelers had been stranded for 48 hours. Similar scenes were reported as far away as Perry and Enid. An article on page 2 stated that mail deliveries would be delayed by the snowstorm. but assured readers that late-arriving packages would be “…handled easily by the fifteen delivery automobiles and wagons.”
Extreme Weather Watch (extremeweatherwatch.com) lists December 25, 1943, with a high temperature of 34 and a low of 28, with 0.42 inch of precipitation (somewhere between a trace and an inch).
1975 saw a rainy Christmas Eve with rain turning to snow the next morning. Accumulation was 1”, and the snow melted quickly.
In 2002, snow fell on December 23. Because of cold temperatures, it was still on the ground on Christmas, with an accumulation of 2”.
The next Christmas snow after that, and the most recent we have had, was the infamous Christmas Eve blizzard of 2009. In a category of its own, it can be best described by Tolstoy (who knew about winter weather): “The snow swept over the plain like thick smoke, and the horizon disappeared” (Master and Man, 1895). The storm came suddenly in mid-day, as people were out and about. In the midst of astonishing amounts of snow, traffic snarled, vehicles sat abandoned, ODOT closed all three interstates, and carefully laid Christmas plans collapsed. Nearly 14” of snow fell that day.
We have had no white Christmases since then. Sources differ on the statistical likelihood of a white Christmas in Oklahoma City, but generally agree it is less than 10%. A pessimist might say there is hardly a chance of snow on Christmas. But an optimist might say we have a greater than zero chance of snow, so let’s hope for the best.
Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas, with or without snow