White Christmas Calculator
Find the probability of snow on Christmas Day in your city based on 30-year historical data
Choose a Country & City
Example: Minneapolis White Christmas
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Snow probability: 74% chance of at least 1 inch
Typical snow depth: 5 inches
Snowfall probability: 30% chance of new snow
Typical snowfall: 0.6 inches
Analysis
✅ Very high chance of white Christmas (74%)
❄️ Enough snow for snowman, but not quite for igloo (10+ inches needed)
🎄 One of the most reliable white Christmas cities in the US
White Christmas Facts
1 inch rule
Meteorologists define white Christmas as at least 1 inch of snow on the ground
Bing Crosby's Song
"White Christmas" is the best-selling single of all time
Mountain Advantage
Higher elevations have much better odds of snow
Most Reliable White Christmas
Understanding White Christmas Probabilities
What Makes a White Christmas?
- •Snow depth: At least 1 inch on the ground at 7 AM on December 25th
- •Snowfall: New snow falling on Christmas Day (any amount)
- •Historical data: Based on 30-year climate averages (1991-2020)
Factors Affecting Snow Probability
- •Latitude: Northern cities have much higher odds
- •Elevation: Mountain areas see more snow
- •Distance from ocean: Continental climates favor snow
Building an Igloo
Snow depth requirement: At least 10 inches of packed snow needed to cut proper blocks for igloo construction.
- •Dense snow: Use deeper, more compacted snow layers
- •Block size: Cut blocks about 18" × 15" × 6" thick
- •Spiral construction: Build in an upward spiral for stability
- •Insulation: Snow provides excellent insulation when built properly
Fun fact: Inside temperature can be 40-60°F warmer than outside when it's -40°F!
Notable White Christmas Years
2017 - Widespread Snow
Most widespread Christmas snow cover in the lower 48 states in 5 years. Seattle had only its 6th white Christmas since the 1890s.
2010 - Southeast Snow
Rare white Christmas in parts of the Southeast, including areas of Georgia and South Carolina that hadn't seen Christmas snow in decades.
2009 - Northeast Blizzard
Major snowstorm brought white Christmas to much of the Northeast, with some areas receiving over 2 feet of snow.