Infamous Christmas weather, from blizzards to tornadoes
Of course, many people dream of a White Christmas, but seldom do people imagine 50-plus inches falling -- which is what happened in one place on Christmas Day.
While the association of snow with the holiday and its yuletide charm is almost always intertwined with the Christmas season, storms hitting during busy travel periods around Christmas can cause mass chaos. In the past few decades, storms have slammed parts of the country over the holidays, proving memorable due to the timing and impacts on annual travel celebrations. Here are a few of the most famous storms to hit on or around Christmas Day.
New York City's biggest blizzard on the day after Christmas - 1947
The landmark Christmas tree at New York's Rockefeller Plaza stands out Dec. 26, 1947, as a few hardy pedestrians make their way through the snow drifts of one of the heaviest winter storms in years. (AP Photo/Harry Harris)
The Big Apple hasn't seen more than 7 inches of snowfall on Christmas Day since 1912, but in 1947 a large storm system dropped 26.4 inches of snow on New York City the day after Christmas, setting a new record that stood for almost 50 years but was topped in 2006. Transportation was shut down, with vehicles abandoned in the street. It was estimated that 77 people died in the storm.
White Christmas and record cold for the Southeast - 1989
Heavy snow Dec. 24, 1989 at a home in Burgaw, North Carolina. (Rick Beacham)
The largest snowstorm on record for the Southeast U.S. coast hit just before Christmas in 1989, along with record cold. Wilmington, North Carolina recorded 15.3 inches of snow from Dec. 22 to 24. The city had its first (and last) white Christmas on record with 13 inches of snow on the ground on the morning of Dec. 25, and also recorded its all-time low temperature of 0 degrees F.
Charleston, South Carolina saw 8 inches of snow during the three-day period, with 4 inches left on the ground on Dec. 25, giving them, like Wilmington, their only white Christmas. The winter storm whitened areas all the way down to northern Florida, as shown in this YouTube video, with Jacksonville reporting nearly an inch of snow on Dec. 23, a trace of which was still on the ground on Christmas morning.
Texarkana gripped by widespread ice storm - 2000
The Dec. 25-26, 2000, storm that hit Texarkana, Texas, left a thick coating of ice on roads, homes and cables that caused massive power outages. (NWS-Shreveport)
An unprecedented ice storm that pummeled Texarkana, Texas, in 2000 left the city celebrating Christmas in the dark. Spanning across northeastern Texas, southwestern Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma, the storm resulted in massive, widespread power outages for many over the course of Dec. 25 and 26.
According to the National Weather Service, ice accumulations totaled up to an inch in parts of Arkansas. Texarkana was left without running water, power and working telephones at one point during the destructive storm.
5 feet of White Christmas snow in New York State - 2001
Snowfall amounts Dec. 24, 2001 through Jan. 1, 2002 (NWS)
An unusually strong and long-duration lake-effect snow event starting on Christmas Eve in 2001 dumped over 5 feet of snow on the Buffalo, New York, area, over the next few days, with more than 100 inches measured on the Tug Plateau in New York state by Jan. 1, setting the record for the biggest storm ever.
Back-to-back holiday storms for the Northeast - 2002
A woman steps in a puddle while crossing the street in Times Square in New York City during a windy snowstorm that covered the tri-state area Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 2002. (AP Photo/Larry Levine)
Just as parts of the Northeast were recovering from a Christmas Day storm in 2002, another punch of snow hit the same areas on New Year's Day, sparking power outages and delaying holiday travel.
While snow began to fall somewhat lightly on Christmas morning in eastern New York and western New England, the storm picked up in strength throughout the day according to the NWS. By the end of the event, Albany, New York, received more than 24 inches of snow. With most of the snow falling in a 12-hour period, the storm is widely remembered for its quick and disruptive nature.
In New York City, residents and tourists also faced messy conditions. Up to 5 inches of snow was recorded within Manhattan.
A similar event occurred just a week later on New Year's Day, only icier conditions created for messier travel. Already coated with snow, trees and power lines tumbled to the ground as thick ice proved too heavy. The NWS reported that up to 15,000 area customers were without power.
South Texas faced a White Christmas - 2004
The 2004 storm was the second ever white Christmas for Corpus Christi, the first occurring in 1918. (NWS-Corpus Christi)
In a rare storm that dropped snow over parts of southern Texas like Victoria and Corpus Christi, scenes of palm trees covered in snow were an unfamiliar but abundant sight. Parts of the region received up to a foot of snow over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
According to the NWS, unique preparations took place before the historic storm. Local officials installed "Watch for Ice on Bridge" signs on local roadways prior to the storm, a new sight for residents. Still, the hefty snowfall left hazardous driving conditions, forcing Texas Department of Transportation officials to close most area roadways.
Due to the remarkable event, grocery stores reported depleted stocks of hot chocolate, food and also disposable cameras. Not having smartphones yet, residents tried to capture the rare feat of a southern white Christmas on film, and photo processing lines became congested with newly minted winter photographers eager to see their snowy settings develop.
Snowstorm buries Colorado on Christmas Day - 2007
With two dogs to help out, an unidentified homeowner clears his walkways after a winter storm dumped up to 6 inches of snow on the metropolitan area to give Denver a white Christmas on Dec. 25, 2007. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Northeastern Colorado was smacked by a record snowfall on Christmas Day in 2007, recording up to 7.8 inches in some areas. This marked the highest snow total to fall over the holiday since 1894.
According to The Associated Press, nearly 2,500 flights were canceled over the course of three days at Denver International Airport. Crews could not keep up with the rapid snowfall and high winds that caused additional hazards. Most roads proved impassable, halting mail operations in the Denver area.
Snow snarls travel in Northeast, Southeast over Christmas and Boxing Day - 2010
Cars were completely buried in snow along a Brooklyn street on Dec. 27, 2010. (NWS)
After blasting much of the Southeast with heavy snow that set up a white Christmas in 2010 for areas like Atlanta and parts of North Carolina, a disruptive blizzard set upon the Northeast for Dec. 26.
New York City was eerily quiet while parts of the city received more than 30 inches of snow between Dec. 26 and 27. Along with high winds reaching up to 60 mph, air and land travel were completely halted. Vehicles and trains were abandoned throughout the Northeast due to unsafe road conditions.
Christmas Day tornado outbreak and blizzard - 2012
Downed power lines and trees from the severe weather Christmas Day made it difficult for homeowners at this McNeill, Miss., residence to begin clean up on Dec. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
On Christmas Day in 2012, 29 tornadoes struck from eastern Texas to Alabama, two of them major twisters classified EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale. Miraculously, no one was killed.
To the north, blizzard warnings were hoisted from Oklahoma to Ohio as the powerful parent storm prepared to dump more than a foot of snow from Missouri to Pennsylvania, with 2 feet burying interior New England.
Feet of lake-effect snow buries Erie, Pennsylvania on Christmas - 2017 and 2020
A Christmas Day storm dumped several feet of snow on Erie, Pennsylvania in 2017. (AccuWeather)
Massive lake-effect snow occurred around Lake Erie on Dec. 25 and 26, 2017. The tally of 50.8 inches was considered a new 24-hour and monthly record for the state of Pennsylvania but was ultimately rejected. Three years later, more than 18 inches of lake-effect snow fell at the Erie airport, with 36 inches at nearby Ashtabula, Ohio.
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