Southern Hemisphere In 2006, a snowstorm hit the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales and Victoria, arriving on Christmas morning and bringing nearly 12 in (30 cm) of snow in higher areas.
The last white Christmas for mainland Australia was in 2006 and potentially the only snowy December 25th in recent decades.
There are plenty of places to enjoy snow in Australia – some of the major destinations include the peaks of the Australian Alps like Perisher, Thredbo, Charlotte Pass, Mt Hotham, Falls Creek, Mt Buller, Selwyn, and Mt Baw Baw.
But it was not the first time it had snowed in Victoria on Christmas day. "It's not particularly unusual,'' he said. Strong winds and heavy rain have also caused Christmas Day havoc in suburban Melbourne, dislodging roof tiles and causing flooding.
In the capital, Melburnians endured their coldest Christmas day on record with the mercury peaking at just 14.5 degrees Celsius. The previous lowest temperature recorded on December 25 since records began 150 years ago was 15.9 degrees, in 1935.
Southern Hemisphere
In 2006, a snowstorm hit the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales and Victoria, arriving on Christmas morning and bringing nearly 12 in (30 cm) of snow in higher areas. In New Zealand's Southern Alps, snow can fall any day of the year, and a white Christmas is possible.
Christmas of 1983 was the coldest Christmas ever with blizzard conditions across northeast Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania. The combination of the arctic cold temperatures and the wide open Great Lakes set the stage for the development of a Lake Effect blizzard.
We can accurately forecast if snow is likely on any given Christmas Day up to five days beforehand. Since 1960, around half of the years have seen at least 5% of the network record snow falling on Christmas Day. This means we can probably expect more than half of all Christmas Days to be a 'white Christmas'.
Every time a snowflake falls on Christmas day, it is deemed a "white Christmas" by The Met Office. The most recent occurrence was in 2021, with white Christmases also categorised for 2020 and 2017.
Does it snow in Tasmania in December? Although snowfall in the summer months is rare, elevated areas like kunanyi/Mount Wellington may occasionally experience early summer snow in December.
You won't find snow all year round in Australia, but the Snowy Mountains, located in South East NSW, receive snow in June, July, August, and also early September.
One of the coldest cities in the world, Fairbanks, Alaska, gets its fair share of snow during the winter. It also has a 100% chance of snow on Christmas Day.
The ski fields of NSW or Victoria are a cheap and easy way to see real snow on Christmas Day. Mount Donna Buang in Victoria will host Christmas night markets and a street party, while Thredbo Resort offers the real deal; a Christmas buffet in the snow fields.
Perth currently holds the record for the highest Christmas Day temperature in an Australian capital city, after reaching a sweltering 42.8ºC on December 25 in 2021.
Topping the list is the picturesque town of Oberon, which sits at an altitude of 1,113 meters and experiences freezing temperatures during winter. Other cold towns in the region include Lithgow, known for its stunning mountain vistas, and the charming city of Orange, famous for its vineyards and frosty winters.
Very rare weather events have brought snow to other parts of Australia. It snowed on the iconic Uluru in Central Australia in 1997 and snow has fallen just twice in Sydney since records began. Even tropical Queensland recorded snow in Mackay in 1965.
The Black Christmas Boycott, also known as the Christmas Sacrifice, in Greenville, North Carolina was a non-violent demonstration of the Civil Rights Movement in 1963 during the months of November and December.
Russia is the country most likely to have Christmas snow - with chances of snowfall being 65.8%. 40 countries have an above 10% chance whilst 67 countries have an above 0% chance.
Below freezing temperatures, however, are not uncommon and snow is not unheard of. At Heathrow, on average, some snow/sleet occurs on average on 12 days during the winter season November to April. Fortunately, the snow does not stay on the ground very long, most of the time it melts away very quickly.
They were 1906, 1917, 1923, 1938, 1956 and 1970. Snow has been a little more frequent further north with 1995 bringing immense drifting snows to Shetland and the north of Scotland bringing down power lines and cutting off communities.
Experts have suggested that the abundant snowfall and associated imagery surrounding the holiday are so intertwined as a result of the traditional songs, stories and artwork that for generations have romanticized white Christmases, many of which were created during a time known as the "Little Ice Age."
Here's a holiday fact: There is a very specific definition for what constitutes a “white Christmas.” According to the National Weather Service, it occurs when there is an inch of snow on the ground as of 7 a.m. local time on Christmas morning.
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.
The lowest natural temperature ever directly recorded at ground level on Earth is −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F; 184.0 K) at the then-Soviet Vostok Station in Antarctica on 21 July 1983 by ground measurements.
Rio Grande Village in Texas hit 94 degrees on Christmas Day, making it the hottest Christmas on record in both Texas AND the United States. Christmas 2021 was the hottest Christmas on record in the United States, according to the National Weather Service.