How common is a white Christmas in Southeast Michigan?
Christmas is a time when you would expect snow on the ground, given all the songs and poems, and the fact that it's December.
But what is the climatology of Christmas actually like?
When it comes to the biggest question about a white Christmas, from the 1950s to now, only 31 Christmas Days have had at least 1 inch of snow on the ground. Ten of those 70 years saw snowfall on Christmas, and 29 of those years had absolutely nothing.
When it comes to snow amounts, we can expand the view a bit more and look at the total time from 1874 to 2024.
Out of 150 years of data, 73 years had no snow at all, with 31 years at just a light dusting at best, which means 104 out of 150 years had a dusting or nothing — not exactly the snowiest holidays.
So what was the temperature for all of these Christmas holidays if it wasn't snowy?
As you can see above, the 30-degree range is the most common, but there have been several warmer years and even some colder ones. Just because the temperatures are 30 degrees doesn't mean it always snows, as we've seen this year, for example.
No matter what, enjoy the Christmas season, whether the ground is snowy or not.