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A White Christmas in the Grand Valley?
12/23/09 - 04:29 PM
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Joe Thompson - bio
click for larger image Grand Junction, Colo.

Many of us have heard the traditional holiday tune, “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas,” but what does that really mean? News Channel 5 asked lots of different people on Main Street in downtown Grand Junction, and opinions were mixed. Some said snow had to be falling for it to actually be a white Christmas, while others said snow on the ground was good enough.

With the varying opinions, News Channel 5 went to the experts at the National Weather Service office in Grand Junction, where they define a white Christmas as one where measurable snow is on the ground. Based off that definition, the Grand Valley sees a White Christmas about once every five years. But only on 20 occasions since 1893, which is how long weather records date back to in Grand Junction, has there been more than one inch of snow on the ground. But while White Christmases don’t occur too often, lately the Grand Valley has been spoiled. With a three-inch snow pack currently blanketing the area, Christmas 2009 will be the fourth straight year snow will be on the ground for the holiday, satisfying the definition for a White Christmas.

But for those who feel a white Christmas is only when new snow falls on Christmas Day, the Weather Service has crunched the numbers on that as well. On average, snow falls on Christmas only once every eight years or so, or a total of 17 times for the 116 Christmases on record. But you don’t have to go back far to find the last time snow fell on the holiday. Just last year, the airport picked up 0.3 inches of snow on Christmas Day. That put a total of 5.0 inches of snow on the ground for Christmas 2008, satisfying both definitions.

The largest Christmas snowfall on record in Grand Junction was back in 1983, when 3.5 inches of fresh powder fell. That snow combined with snow already on the ground to also make Christmas 1983 the year with the largest snow depth with 7 inches covering the ground.

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