The Ghosts of Christmas Past and Christmas Yet to Come

Most of Central Virginia bottomed out in the teens Tuesday morning, thanks to clear skies, cold and dry Arctic air, and calm winds overnight. However, this cold will not linger past Tuesday. High pressure currently over the East-central coast will move out to sea, allowing our winds to return to the South by Tuesday afternoon. This will usher in warmer air from the south at the same time as an approaching low pressure system tracks north of Virginia.

This storm system is yet another in a series of record-setting winter weather storms to move through the Midwest and Northeast in the past couple of weeks. But Central Virginia will escape yet again the snow associated with this system. This does beg the question, though, of when was the last time Richmond had a White Christmas?

Well, that all depends on your definition of a “White Christmas!” If you are satisfied with merely getting snow flurries and a light dusting on Christmas Day, then the last time that happened in Richmond was in 1993. Light snow showers started around mid-day and continued through the afternoon, accumulating about a tenth of an inch of snow. The last time before 1993 there was a light snowfall was 1985.

But, if you want a more “legitimate” White Christmas, the last time at least one inch of snow fell on Christmas Day in Richmond was in 1981, later in the day. The last time kids could wake up to an inch of snow on the ground Christmas Morning was 1966.

It has been a hundred years since the greatest Christmas Morning snow depth in Richmond. Seven inches of snow blanketed Richmond Christmas Morning in 1908. Several years later in 1914, it snowed 5.4 inches in Richmond on Christmas Day.

Snow aside, the coldest Christmas Day was in 1983, when the high temperature in Richmond was only 14 degrees, with a low of just three degrees.

We do remain in a very active weather pattern, however, and our next storm system will track just to our north Christmas Eve and Day, bringing a decent chance for rain Wednesday and Thursday. Richmond will be too warm for snowfall, but there may be some flurries in the western parts of the state, especially in the mountains, before this system moves out.

--Carrie