# Quick Doper Poll: Have You Ever Seen a White Christmas? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 1, 2006, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536 "2006-12-01T22:28:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/1 "2006-12-01T22:28:48Z")
I’ve always thought it a bit odd that so many of our Christmas carols are about snow and snowmen and sleighs and the like when the majority of the Christian world lives in areas that do not get snow in December if at all. Why aren’t there more carols about warm or cool Christmas Days? My understanding is it snowed in Alabama once on Christmas Day in the 1960s but it didn’t stick, and I have photographs of my relatives on Christmas and Christmas Eve wearing short sleeves and sometimes short pants. I’ve considered going to New Hampshire at some point just to see what the fuss is about but I’m sure if I did it would be a record heat wave for the season. Have you ever had a White Christmas where you live (or have lived) and if so was it the norm or an aberration? ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/2 "2006-12-01T22:31:58Z")
I live in Canada. I’d rather not talk about all the snow I’ve seen on X-mas, thank you very much. 😃 (FWIW - I think I’ve seen two or three brown or green X-mases.) ---
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/3 "2006-12-01T22:34:28Z")
Seeing as I live in the mountains of Colorado, it’s hardly fair to answer. But yes, I’ve had white Christmases every year for ages. We even had them in NJ during my childhood. ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/4 "2006-12-01T22:42:56Z")
As a Canadian I would say that the majority of my Christmas’s were white, with the exception of when we went to the West Coast to visit relatives. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/5 "2006-12-01T22:50:50Z")
I’ve had white Christmases in England and in Ohio. Never in Australia, however. ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/6 "2006-12-01T22:51:13Z")
Tons as a kid in the South of Scotland but hardly any now. It always snows but it seems to do so later now. I am in London at the moment and they don’t get proper weather down here. Seen it snow once in three years. ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/7 "2006-12-01T22:53:21Z")
Yep. We do get some mild winters here, but MO weather is always weird. It was 70 two days ago and now there is a foot on snow on the ground. It’s been unusually nice some holidays, icy or snowy others. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/8 "2006-12-01T23:02:58Z")
Statistically, where I live we only see a white Christmas about 13% of the time (I don’t have a cite, I just happen to recall hearing someone on TV or on the radio spout off this figure). Assuming the criteria for a white Christmas is one inch or more of snow on the ground, I’d say this is about right. The last such Christmas we had was in 1998. Where we live, we don’t see a lot of snow, mostly rain, whereas the snow is higher up in elevation in the nearby mountains. When it does snow (and stays on the ground) it’s usually right after Christmas. If the temperature is cold enough, we still often get screwed out of snow because of inversions, which are high pressure weather systems that divert storms away from us, leaving us in a snowless valley of fog and haze for days on end. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/9 "2006-12-01T23:22:05Z")
I grew up in Chicago, so they were always non-green. Of course, it was often gray - snow turns to slush pretty quickly in Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/10 "2006-12-01T23:23:19Z")
I’ve seen a white Christmas in the following places: New Jersey, New York, Arizona, North Dakota (f\*ckin’ windy that year, hoo boy!), Montana, and _Afghanistan!_ So yes, I’ve seen a white Christmas. Tripler Ho ho ho. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/11 "2006-12-01T23:24:24Z")
Growing up in southern Canada, I can only recall one Christmas which started off green. But then it snowed. May all your Christmases be white too. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/12 "2006-12-01T23:25:32Z")
I’m not too far south of “Frozen Tundra” land (Lambeau field) so yes, I’ve seen many a White Christmas. And White Thanksgivings, and on occasion, a pretty white Halloween. We had an interesting white May 10th back in 1990, when a bizarre blizzard dumped about 4 inches of wet wet wet snow on us, too. ---
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/13 "2006-12-01T23:28:06Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] I’m not too far south of “Frozen Tundra” land (Lambeau field) so yes, I’ve seen many a White Christmas. And White Thanksgivings, and on occasion, a pretty white Halloween. We had an interesting white May 10th back in 1990, when a bizarre blizzard dumped about 4 inches of wet wet wet snow on us, too. [/QUOTE] I can remember a white 4th of July vividly. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/14 "2006-12-01T23:31:45Z")
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, UP of Michigan. Yep, I’ve had more then my fair share of white Christmas. Not all of them, but probably in the 75% range. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/15 "2006-12-01T23:31:46Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] Have you ever had a White Christmas where you live (or have lived) and if so was it the norm or an aberration? [/QUOTE] Yes, plenty, but not every christmas is white. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/16 "2006-12-01T23:43:40Z")
Yep, many times. I grew up in central Ohio and also spent several christmas’ with family in the mountains of Tennessee. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/17 "2006-12-01T23:45:42Z")
It’s the norm up here, but we occasionally have brown ones depending on the weather. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/18 "2006-12-01T23:46:31Z")
I flew to Boston from the sunny South one Christmas (1980) to visit with the folks in a suburb. On Christmas Eve the Montreal Express arrived and dropped the temp from 30 F above zero to 22 below (in SIX hours), with gale force winds that blew out the central natural gas-fired furnace pilot light and the sudden temp drop created such a demand that the whole eastern Mass. gas supply was insufficient to meet the demand and thousands of homes were without gas heat for several days. The electric stayed on at the house. Fortunatley the gas kitchen range did not die and we used it for heat overnight and on Christmas Day, and Mom could cook the turkey, etc. Dad had been in the hospital the week before so we got to the top of the priority list of the gas co. for relighting the furnace pilot and that got done Christmas night. I had to go down to the low-overhead cellar of the 200-year-old house and wipe warm rags along the water pipes to the faucets to melt the slush in them. Yes, I’ve seen one white Christmas too many, but fortunately have not seen one in about 10 years now and don’t care if I ever see another one. Although where I live now, they had a record 18" snowfall on 12/24 in 1989 but I was further north and didn’t see any that year. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/19 "2006-12-01T23:54:37Z")
Saw two, I think, in Seattle in the 30 or so years I lived there. Had a few since here in Denver. This is a strange land. I can’t remember a Halloween that didn’t involve rain or snow. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2006, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536/20 "2006-12-02T00:04:20Z")
Growing up in northern New England, we had white Christmases more often than not. White Thanksgivings were not unheard of and I’ve seen at least one white Halloween. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-doper-poll-have-you-ever-seen-a-white-christmas/382536.md?page=2)