National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

Christmas Weather Facts for Waterloo 

The Top 10 Snowiest Christmas Days since 1950 include:

 1.     7.0 inches of snow fell in 1951    
 2.     3.0 inches of snow fell in 1957    
 3.     1.5 inches of snow fell in 1993    
 4.     1.4 inches of snow fell in 1962    
 5.     1.1 inches of snow fell in 1967    
 6.     0.9 inches of snow fell in 1964    
 7.     0.6 inches of snow fell in 1978    
 8.     0.3 inches of snow fell in 1968    
 9.     0.1 inches of snow fell in 1992    
10.       T  Trace of snow fell in 1950

21 out of 59 years had a trace or greater
  9 out of 59 years had .10 inches or greater
 5 out of 59 years had 1 inch or greater
 2 out of 59 years had 3 inches or greater

The Top 10 Years with Deepest Snow Cover on Christmas Day for Waterloo since 1950:

Year                                                       Snow Depth

1951                                                       14.0 inches
1961                                                       11.0 inches
1985                                                         9.0 inches
1969                                                         9.0 inches
1983                                                         8.0 inches
1990                                                         4.0 inches
1989                                                         4.0 inches
1972                                                         4.0 inches
1970                                                         3.0 inches
1968                                                         3.0 inches

The 2008 Waterloo snow depth of 12 inches gives Christmas 2008 the second 
deepest snowpack for Waterloo* since 1950.

* Data from the Waterloo Airport since 1950 

Weather for the Past 10 Christmas Days in Waterloo:

Year       High       Low        Precipitation      Snowfall

2007       39           18          .00                          .00
2006       32           21          .00                          .00
2005       35           32          T                              T
2004       29           16          .04                          .90
2003       43           10          .00                          .00
2002       24             8           T                              T
2001       20             9           T                              T
2000        9          -29           .00                          .00
1999       41           13           .00                          .00
1998       31           15           .00                          .00

Waterloo Normals for Christmas Day:

Normal High Temperature:          27
Normal Low Temperature:          10
Normal Precipitation:                  .03  inches
Normal Snowfall:                        .40  inches

Waterloo Records for Christmas Day: 

Record High Temperature:            58 in 1936
Record Low Temperature:           -29  in 2000

For the Past 59 Years…Number of Days with a High of:

-10 to 0 Degrees…                              2 days
0 to 10 Above                                      3 days
10 to 20 Above                                    8 days
20 to 30 Above                                  18 days
30 to 40 Above                                  19 days
40 to 50 Above                                    6 days
0 to 60 Above                                      1 day
60 Above or greater                             0 days

With the high as of 7 p.m. of 21 degrees for Christmas 2008, the high 
would be slightly below normal. Our morning low of 11 below zero left 
Waterloo frigid earlier this Christmas morning.