A white Christmas is a rare event for NYC. We've only had three in the last 50 years. 

What You Need To Know

  • In the last 50 years, a white Christmas in NYC occurred 6% of the time

  • There is a specific definition of a white Christmas

  • The last white Christmas was in 2009

  • It doesn't have to snow on Christmas to have a white Christmas

The official definition of a white Christmas is that at least an inch of snow has to be on the ground by 7 a.m. on Christmas morning.

So, even if snow is falling on Christmas morning, it may not be a white Christmas. And in some instances, it might not be snowing at all, but with snow already on the ground, it'll earn the title of a white Christmas.

The history of a white Christmas in NYC

It has been quite a while since we've had a white Christmas.

The historical data from Central Park on Christmas Day shows that we met the criteria on Christmas morning just three times in the last 50 years. If you do the math, that's about 6% of the time.

The years were 2009, 2002 and 1998. 


What about this year?

It's too soon to know for sure, but we do have something working in our favor. A deep freeze will arrive this weekend. Temperatures will tumble to the teens and 20s. That's certainly cold enough for snow. Now, we just need a storm system!