What years did it snow on Christmas Day in New Orleans, LA? | Weather

Dreaming of a white Christmas in the Crescent City?

South of Lake Pontchartrain, snow is incredibly rare any time of year, and small flakes of snow are even less likely to fall on the one day of the year when they are truly welcomed with open arms.

But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

According to the National Weather Service, snowfall occurred only twice on December 25 in recent history.

The most notable event occurred on Christmas 2004, when nearly half an inch of snow fell throughout the day, NWS meteorologist Lauren Nash told The Times-Picayune in 2023. Nash also noted at the time that snowfall records in south Louisiana were patchy .

The only other recorded white Christmas occurred about 50 years earlier, when a trace of snow fell in 1953, Nash said.

Other cases of snow

Aside from the Christmas Day snow dusting, there have been other times when snow has fallen in the Crescent City and other parts of south Louisiana.

• December 2017: Snow-covered portions of the North Shore and Baton Rouge
• December 2008: Snow fell and stayed in New Orleans
• 1989: Snow fell and stayed in New Orleans
• 1963: 2.7 inches of snow was recorded in New Orleans and as much as 4 inches in some areas
• February 1958: People all over town danced and acted in the show.
• February 1895: 20 cm of snow fell in New Orleans

Since 1850, “measurable amounts” of snow has fallen in New Orleans only 17 times, NWS forecaster Jim Vasilj told The Times-Picayune in 2008.