White Christmas in Edmonton? Here's how often it occurs
If you’ve been wondering whether Edmonton will experience a white Christmas this year, let’s dig into what the stats say.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) analyzed 69 years of weather records from 45 cities across Canada, calculating the probability of a snow-covered Christmas Day.
In Edmonton, there’s an 87% chance of snow on Christmas, though that number has dipped to 84% in recent years (1997 to 2023) compared to a perfect 100% in earlier years (1960 to 1984).
The frequency of Christmas snowfall has dropped by 16% over time, and snow depth has also decreased. In recent years, Edmonton’s Christmas snow depth averaged 14 cm, compared to 17 cm in earlier decades, marking a three-centimetre decline.
As for a “perfect Christmas,” categorized as two or more centimetres of snow on the ground and snow falling on Christmas Day, Edmonton only has a 20% chance of that combination.
Green or brown Christmases are also slightly more common in YEG now, with five recorded between 1989 and 2023 compared to just four from 1955 to 1988.
Thanks to a ton of snowfall, this year is looking to be a white Christmas.
ECCC
ECCC predicts a sunny Christmas Day with a high of 4°C, and with temperatures slowly on the rise these next few days, Edmonton should see a lovely Christmas!