Christmas Climate Information

Western and Central North Dakota
Christmas Day Climate Information

Are You Dreaming of A White Christmas in North Dakota?

As Christmas approaches, North Dakotans wonder what the chances of
a white Christmas will be. A white Christmas is defined as having one or more inches
of snow on the ground. So, what is the overall chance of seeing a white Christmas in
Western and Central North Dakota for any given year?

Below is an image showing the probabilty of a white Christmas for the lower
48 states. Here in North Dakota on any given Christmas, there is a greater than 50%
chance of seeing a white Christmas. The chances of a white Christmas increase
from the Southwest to the Northeast, where chances increase to greater than 90%.

For selected cities across western and central North Dakota, below are
the top 5's for record maximum and minimum temperatures, snowfall, and
snow depth through 2010.

Bismarck
Five Warmest Highs	Five Coldest Highs	Five Warmest Lows	Five Coldest Lows	Five Snowiest	Five Greatest Snow Depths
49 1999	-10 1996	30 1999*	-35 1884	9.2" 2009	13" 2010*
45 1963*	-8 1892	27 1959	-34 1990	5.2" 1916	11" 2008*
44 1991*	-7 1990*	26 1953*	-30 1914	4.1" 1950	10" 1993
43 1994	-5 1902*	25 1940*	-24 1902	3.2" 1968	9" 1996*
42 1997*	-4 1935	24 2007*	-23 1933	2.4" 1904	8" 1978*
The last brown Christmas in Bimarck was in 2006. During the period, 1886-2010, there have been 28 Christmas Days with greater than or equal to 0.1" of snowfall, 34 days with a trace, and 63 days with NO snowfall. * indicates there are previous years which the record also occurred

Williston
Five Warmest Highs	Five Coldest Highs	Five Warmest Lows	Five Coldest Lows	Five Snowiest	Five Greatest Snow Depths
51 1993	-17 1996	26 1975	-32 1996	4.5" 2009	19" 2010
47 1931	-6 1990	25 1979	-31 1990	1.0" 1980	15" 1996
46 1963	-5 1964	24 2005	-30 1914	0.7" 1988	12" 1964
45 1991	3 1983	23 1999	-27 1964	0.5" 1964	8" 2000
44 2005	4 1988	21 2007*	-26 1934	0.4" 1965	6" 1995
The last brown Christmas in Williston was in 2007. During the period, 1894 to 2010, there have been 29 Christmas Days with greater than or equal to 0.1" of snowfall, 58 days with a trace, and 28 days with NO snowfall. There were two years (1904 and 1905) where snowfall was marked as missing. * indicates there are previous years which the record also occurred

Minot
Five Warmest Highs	Five Coldest Highs	Five Warmest Lows	Five Coldest Lows	Five Snowiest	Five Greatest Snow Depths
48 1999	-12 1996	28 1999*	-26 1933	3.8" 1950	17" 2010
47 1931	-9 1935	27 1991	-23 1934	3.0" 2009	14" 1967
44 1943	-5 1933	26 1996	-21 1996	2.2" 1975	13" 1967
42 1928	-4 1934	25 1943	-20 1935*	1.6" 1960	12" 1996*
41 2005	-3 1964	24 1928	-16 1925	1.0" 1942*	10" 2009*
The last brown Christmas in Minot was in 2006. During the period, 1923 to 2010, there have been 18 Christmas Days with greater than or equal to 0.1" of snow, 23 days with a trace, and 46 days with NO snowfall. * indicates there are previous years which the record also occurred

Dickinson
Five Warmest Highs	Five Coldest Highs	Five Warmest Lows	Five Coldest Lows	Five Snowiest	Five Greatest Snow Depths
51 2005*	-14 1996	33 1963	-29 1996*	11.4" 2009	11" 2010
47 1940	-7 1934	32 1919	-27 1937	2.5" 1916	8" 2009*
46 1994*	-6 1990	31 1994	-21 1990*	2.0" 1942*	7" 1977
45 1943*	-4 1933*	28 2005*	-20 1933	1.9" 1978	6" 1996*
44 1999*	-3 1921	25 1922	-17 1924	1.7" 1968*	5" 1973*
The last brown Christmas in Dickinson was in 2007. During the period, 1893 to 2010, there have been 22 Christmas Days with greater than or equal to 0.1" of snow, 22 days with a trace, and 73 days with NO snowfall. * indicates there are previous years which the record also occurred

Jamestown
Five Warmest Highs	Five Coldest Highs	Five Warmest Lows	Five Coldest Lows	Five Snowiest	Five Greatest Snow Depths
46 1999	-14 1996	33 1928	-25 1933	8.2" 1950	22" 1996
44 1943	-7 1990	28 1953*	-24 1917*	2.1" 1949	15" 1949
42 1994	-6 1935	26 1994	-23 1996	2.0" 1942*	13" 2010
41 1919	-4 1933	25 1995*	-22 1924	1.9" 1978	12" 1985
40 1991*	-2 1925*	24 1943*	-20 1937*	1.7" 1968*	11" 1993
The last brown Christmas in Jamestown was in 2006. During the period, 1893 to 2010, there have been 16 Christmas Days with greater than or equal to 0.1" of snow, 24 days with a trace, and 76 days with NO snowfall. * indicates there are previous years which the record also occurred

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