When Did Lubbock Last Have A White Christmas? Can We Wish For It This Year?

Are you dreaming of a white Christmas this year? After the very hot summer we've had, who could blame you for looking forward to some enchanting winter snow? I also wouldn't blame you for missing snow on Christmas, because here in Lubbock, it's actually fairly rare. In 2021, Christmas was a whopping 81 degrees!

Can you believe it's been 11 years since it last snowed on Christmas? The last time parts of Lubbock had a white Christmas was 2012, according to the experts at the National Weather Service, unless you count 2015, during which we had a blizzard on the 26th and 27th- so there was likely still some snow on your yard come Christmas time. I remember building a massive snowman in my yard that year. I want that again.

Apparently, there are actually some officially set parameters for a white Christmas:

Officially, we need an inch or more of snow to fall or be on the ground to make a "White Christmas".  At Lubbock, we've only had this happen 6 times, or less than 6% of the time!

So do we even have a chance at a white Christmas this year- officially or not? We need to look at both temperature and precipitation climate maps to make an educated guess.

Lubbock is on the cusp of the above-normal temperature range for December 2023.
Since we are on average between 37 and 53 degrees in December, that doesn't bode great for a snowy day, since it must be 32 degrees or lower to snow. However....

We have equal chances of having more or less precipitation this year. So at least we don't have to count on it being too dry to snow.

If I had to bet, I bet we won't see snow until 2024. But Christmas is notorious for miracles- here's hoping I get to build that snowman again.