Record Cold to Tornadoes: Christmas Weather Extremes

Although Christmas holiday tunes only mention snow, Mother Nature often has a wide range of weather possibilities on December 24 and 25. We recount a handful of extreme weather events on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day below:

Christmas Eve

1872: Chicago reported an all-time record low of minus-23 degrees. 

1983: A record high U.S. barometric pressure reading of 31.42 inches of mercury was established in Miles City, Minn. The Arctic high was responsible for the coldest Christmas Eve of modern record with more than 125 cities reporting record lows. Havre, Mont., dropped to minus-50 degrees. Chicago’s record low of minus-23 degrees set on Christmas Eve in 1872 (see event above) was shattered in 1983 when the low temperature dropped to minus-25 degrees. Minneapolis also established its coldest Christmas Eve on December 24, 1983, with a low temperature of minus-25 degrees.

1987: Record rainfall claimed four lives and produced millions of dollars in damage to the Mid-South and Tennessee Valley. Up to 14 inches of rain drenched Memphis, Tenn. Little Rock, Ark., had its wettest December day on record with 5.76 inches of rain while not too far away in West Little Rock, Ark., 10.20 inches of rain fell in 24-hours. 

1988: A cold front spawned a powerful tornado in Franklin, Tenn., which killed one person and hurt seven others. Total damage by today’s standards reached $18.8 million. On the same day, a winter storm blanketed the West with heavy snow. Blue Canyon, Calif., measured 20 inches of snow while Bishop, Calif., had 14 inches. Redding, Calif., had three times its annual snowfall average, shoveling away 10 inches of fresh powder on Christmas Eve.

1989: Record cold gripped the south-central and Eastern U.S. Elkins, W.Va., tumbled to minus-22 degrees while Key West tied its coldest December reading with 44 degrees. Miami not only established a daily record low temperature of 31 degrees but had its coldest high temperature ever reported on Christmas Eve of 45 degrees. 

Christmas Day

1966: North Carolina to New England was blessed with a White Christmas thanks to a major East Coast snowstorm. Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pa., measured their greatest snow depth ever recorded on Christmas Day in 1966 with 12 and 10 inches respectively. 

1980: The coldest Christmas Day on record for the Northeast occurred. Temperatures dropped to minus-36 degrees in New York state and Boston plunged from 34 degrees to minus-7 degrees during the day. 

1983: More than 125 cities from the Central to the Eastern U.S. shattered record lows while 34 cities reported all-time December low temperatures. Huntsville had its coldest minimum and maximum temperature on this day, with minus-1 degrees and 15 degrees respectively. Houston had its coldest Christmas Day with a low temperature of 13 degrees and a high of 27 degrees.  

1987: The U.S. was divided with a winter blast in the Southwest and near record heat in southern Texas. Tucson, Ariz., woke up to a White Christmas for the first time in 45 years with four inches of snow. Enough cold air at the surface produced freezing rain in the Mid-South, with Harrison, Ark., measuring one inch of ice. A warm front punched through southern Texas with McAllen, Texas, reaching 91 degrees, which was one degree shy of its former Christmas Day record high of 92 degrees set in 1964. 

1988: A major western winter storm brought Las Vegas its first ever recorded snow. A whiplash of winter storms five days leading up to Christmas helped produce a snow depth of almost six feet in Wolf Creek Pass, Colo.

1989: The Southeast woke up to a record-cold morning with Wilmington, N.C., dropping to an all-time record low temperature of zero degrees and Jacksonville, N.C., bottoming out at a record minus-5 degrees. Miami dropped to a record 30 degrees. 

2003: Heavy rain drenched wildfire-scarred southern California. Flash flooding produced mudslides that claimed the lives of 15 people at campgrounds in San Bernardino.

2004: South Texas was greeted to a rare White Christmas. Victoria had its first White Christmas on record with 2.5 inches of accumulation that contributed to a record Christmas Day snow depth of 11 inches. Meanwhile, Corpus Christi had its second White Christmas on record with 2.1 inches of snow. 

2006: Severe storms swept through Florida. Four tornadoes touched down, with Columbia, Pasco, Lake and Volusia counties hardest hit. As a matter of fact, a tornado produced so much damage at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University officials had to delay the start of the spring semester. 

2010: A major blizzard paralyzed the East Coast Christmas Day through December 27 with 24.5 inches of snow pummeling New York City. Rail lines, airports and bus services were suspended as a result. One person was killed in Maine and a state of emergency was declared from North Carolina to Maine. 

2012: A severe weather outbreak unleashed on the Deep South and Lower Mississippi Valley. A tornado rolled through Mobile, Ala., during the late afternoon. One person died when a large pine tree toppled into a house near Georgiana, Ala. Eighteen wheelers overturned on Interstate 65 and a house caught on fire in Freemanville, Ala. Alabama Power reported 19,000 people were in the dark, with significant damage reported in Mobile, Ala. In total, there were 34 reported tornadoes and 84 reports of thunderstorm wind damage.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the entire staff at WeatherBug! Stay ahead of developing severe weather 24/7 with the WeatherBug phone and desktop application and check back for the latest on national weather news all year long.  

Source: NOAA

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Story Image: A blanket of fresh snow is seen. (Courtesy of Pixabay.com)