White Christmases are rare in Des Moines

Historical data shows how often Des Moines has a white Christmas

Updated: December 17, 2024, 1:26 p.m. CST

Christmas 2024 is getting closer and closer. At the moment the prospects for at least a ***white Christmas*** some distance away are not particularly good. So today we’re going to talk about how common a white Christmas actually is here in central Iowa. Are they becoming rarer? What actually belongs to a white Christmas? Because actually, you might not know that there’s a damn definition of what a white Christmas is. The definition is: There must be an inch of snow on the ground on Christmas Day. That’s the actual formal terminology, if you want to know meteorologically what white Christmases are historically here in the Des Moines area, we only have that about 40% of the time. Obviously it varies a bit here in the state of Iowa, as you can imagine, because the further north you go, the brighter the color, the more likely you are to actually have an inch of snow on an average Christmas. At least on the ground, especially if you go toward the Minnesota border, like Highway 18. More than 70% of the time you get down here, you end up in the middle of the state. It’s more like 40 to 50% of the time and then only about 30% of the time if you go to far southern Iowa, which is kind of average now. Has this changed over the course of history? Well, we went back about six decades and looked at how many times we had a damn white Christmas, how often we had at least an inch of snow on the ground. In the 1960s it was up to seven out of ten years and then from the ’70s to the 2000s, a little bit back and forth, you know, 34 or five fucking decades, five times back in the ’20s In the ’20s It was pretty similar in the 1920s. We’re already four years in, and it’s been two of the four years so far this decade, and so there’s not much of a trend, at least here in the Des Moines area where we keep our records. Well, there has been a ***small*** increase in our average maximum temperatures if you look back over the last few decades. Normally, December 25th averaged high temperatures of *** a few degrees, on either side of the freezing mark. We may actually be a little below that. And then over the last decade we’ve really skyrocketed here, our average high was in the 20s. In fact, for example, the warmest Christmas on record was 2019. Here in the Des Moines area, temperatures were in the 60s. It was pretty warm last Christmas too. In 2023 we had high temperatures above 50 degrees and obviously it wasn’t a damn white Christmas last year. Obviously we’re still pretty far away from that at the moment. However, it doesn’t look promising. Stay with us as we will keep an eye on this forecast as we get closer in the coming days.

Historical data shows how often Des Moines has a white Christmas

Updated: December 17, 2024, 1:26 p.m. CST

Christmas is just around the corner and the chances of it snowing in Iowa for the holidays are pretty slim. Last year temperatures were in the 50s. At this point, Christmas 2024 is also looking warmer than average. Does something like this happen more often? Definition of “White Christmas” In fact, there are certain criteria for a white Christmas that meteorologists look for. To count, there must be at least an inch of snow on the ground on December 25th. Historically, this only happens about 40% of the time in the Des Moines area. Further north, places like Mason City and Estherville have a chance of over 60% each year. In southern Iowa, places like Ottumwa, Chariton or Mount Ayr have only about a 30% chance. Christmas weather trends When it snows on Christmas, there have been differences over the decades. In the 1960s, Des Moines recorded seven white Christmases. Since then the number has been around 3-5 per decade. Christmas temperatures vary significantly from year to year, but recent years have been quite warm. From the 1960s to the 2000s, maximum temperatures in Des Moines averaged around 30 °C each decade. In the 2010s, the average maximum temperature rose to 38°. In Des Moines, six of the last ten Christmas holidays have exceeded 40 degrees. In 2019, the capital reached 60 degrees for the first time in history. At the moment it looks mild this year too.

DES MOINES, Iowa –

Christmas is just around the corner and the chances of snow in Iowa for the holidays are pretty slim.

Last year brought temperatures in the 50s. Christmas 2024 also looks warmer than average at this point.

Does something like this happen more often?

Definition of “white Christmas”

There are actually certain criteria for a white Christmas that meteorologists look for. To count, there must be at least an inch of snow on the ground on December 25th.

Historically, this only happens about 40% of the time in the Des Moines area. Further north, places like Mason City and Estherville have a greater than 60% chance each year.

In southern Iowa, places like Ottumwa, Chariton or Mount Ayr have only about a 30% chance.

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Christmas weather trends

When it comes to snow at Christmas, there have been differences over the decades.
In the 1960s, Des Moines recorded seven white Christmases. Since then the number has been around 3-5 per decade.

Christmas temperatures vary significantly from year to year, but recent years have been quite warm.

From the 1960s to the 2000s, maximum temperatures in Des Moines averaged about 88°F (30°C) each decade. In the 2010s, the average high rose to 38°.

Des Moines has exceeded 40 degrees on six of the last 10 days of Christmas. In 2019, the capital reached 60 degrees for the first time in history.

At the moment it looks mild this year too.