“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas…”. Is there anyone who doesn’t know that classic Christmas song written by Irving Berlin? You might even have started humming or singing it when you read the words.
Bing Crosby’s famous recording of that song is the biggest selling single of all time with 50 million copies sold. It’s one of the reason’s Bing’s Merry Christmas album is on my Top 7 list of all-time great Christmas albums.
If you don’t live in Canada, you might think that we enjoy a white Christmas every year. Read on for some fun facts about white Christmases in Canada.
This post was originally published in December 2020 and updated in November 2023.
How do we define a white Christmas?
I’m not a huge fan of the snow but I do love it at Christmas time. Over the years, though, I recall more green Christmases than white ones.
According to Environment Canada, for a Christmas to be considered white, we need to have snow cover of 2 centimetres on the ground at 7 a.m. on the morning of December 25.
Environment Canada also defines a perfect Christmas as one where we have a measurable snowfall on Christmas day in addition to 2 centimetres of snow on the ground at 7 a.m.
What are the odds of a white Christmas in Canada?
A few years ago, Environment Canada analyzed 57 years of weather data to determine the probability of a white Christmas in various parts of the country.
In Kitchener-Waterloo, where I live, the probability of has dropped from 73% before 1984 to 55% in recent years. I suppose we can thank climate change for that.
As for a perfect Christmas, we’ve historically only experienced that 45% of the time.
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Where to travel for a guaranteed white Christmas
We live in a part of the country where the winter weather is a little more moderate. So, while those of us in southern Ontario need to keep dreaming of a white Christmas, there are some places where a snowy Christmas is pretty much guaranteed.
Not surprisingly, there is a 100% chance of a white Christmas in these three Arctic locations:
- Iqaluit, Nunavut (2,439 kilometres from Kitchener)
- Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (4,952 kilometres from Kitchener)
- Whitehorse, Yukon (5,413 kilometres from Kitchener)
But you don’t have to go as far as the Arctic to be guaranteed a snowy Christmas in Canada. Kenora, Ontario and Winnipeg, Manitoba also have a 100% chance according to the Environment Canada study. Kenora is a mere 1,867 kilometres from Kitchener.
Goose Bay, Timmins, Thunder Bay and Brandon also have pretty good odds with a 95% chance of waking up to the white stuff on Christmas morning.
But, if you need snow to make things merry, things could be worse. Our friends in southern British Columbia have the lowest possibility of a white Christmas in the country with Vancouver having a 10% chance and Victoria not much better at 15%.
And may all your Christmases be…
As the song says, “May your days be merry and bright. And may all your Christmases be white.”
Whatever colour your Christmas will be, I hope it’s Merry!
Does it snow at Christmas where you live? Tell us below.
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It’s Xmas eve, and when I woke up this morning, it was +8C outside. By 4pm it was snowing and we’re in the midst of the 3 or 4th snow storm this year already! Looks like we’ll be having a white Xmas this year! Thanks for sharing!
Yes. We have snow here tonight too. Merry Christmas.
I live in Montreal and have had one only non-white Christmas since I moved here 6 years ago! Funny enough, that Christmas I actually spent in Kitchener 😉 but the 8 years I lived in Winnipeg, we had snow 100% of the time – so you’re right on the money there! Looks like this year is going to be another green Christmas in Montreal
Oh that’s too bad Christmas will be green in Montreal this year. There’s still hope that we’ll get some snow overnight on Christmas Eve. They are calling for rain tomorrow, changing over to snow tomorrow night and possibly 10 cm by Christmas morning. Hopefully it will make its way to you in Montreal on Christmas Day.
We don’t have any snow here in Chicago (at the moment); however, it is really a ‘wait and see’ I find. Having lived in Winnipeg for many years, I think I would have fallen over if there wasn’t snow at Christmas!! Your photo is lovely, Michelle! Cher xoxo
Thanks Cher. Of course, our forecast has changed since I published this post, but it still looks like our Christmas may be white this year. 🤞🙏🎄❄️⛄️❄️
Please send a wee bit here, Michelle! LOL Cher xoxo
It’s rarely white in the UK. It’s more grey! 🤣
Yes. I remember those grey Christmases from growing up in England. We get those too some years. After I wrote this post, the forecast changed and now they’re calling for 5 degrees on Wednesday and 4 degrees and rain on Christmas Eve so that will get rid of the snow we do have. 😢 The chance of snow on Christmas Day is now down to 40% so it looks like another green Christmas for us.
The only thing we can predict about the weather is, it will be unpredictable.
We got about 12 inches the other day so I’m hoping it will stick around for Christmas! A couple years ago it was so warm on Christmas we were wearing short sleeves!
Yes, we have had warm Christmases in recent years too. Now they are calling for rain and 5 degrees Celsius here on Wednesday so that might be the end of our snow.
I just assumed all of Canada got snowed in during Christmas😏 we always say that it’s the coldest country to live in 😅
Most of the country definitely is but ,in the very southern part where I live, the weather is a little more moderate, although not as moderate as Vancouver and Victoria where they often have daffodils and tulips in bloom in early March.
We in the Boston area are forecast to have a warm and possibly rainy Christmas this year — a Green & Brown Christmas. I think of Ontario as being cold and snowy all winter long — but maybe the southern parts of Ontario get warmed a bit by the Great Lakes? On another topic, I would like to point out that both of the wonderful winter holiday songs you mention were written by Jewish songwriters — “White Christmas” as you mention by Irving Berlin and “Let It Snow” by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne. To add another layer of history — and poignancy — to “White Christmas,” Irving Berlin and his Roman Catholic wife Ellin Mackey’s only son died as a baby on Christmas Day. So, although they celebrated Christmas for the sake of their daughters, it was a holiday that ever afterwards contained a deep, aching sense of loss for Ellin and Irving…who remained married for 62 years! Ps: Irving also wrote another holiday favorite, “Easter Parade.”
You’re right. We’re kind of nestled in between Lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron so the lakes definitely affect our weather patterns. Interestingly, if you draw a straight line on the map of North America from where we live, you’ll arrive in the Northern part of California. So, although Americans think of us as their neighbours to the North, where I live, we’re actually further south than a lot of the United States. My friends in Wisconsin find that amusing.
Thanks for the information about the songwriters. I did not know that.
There isn’t much chance of snow here in South Carolina but the forecast is for this to be one of the coldest ever.
No I imagine snow would be a pretty rare sight in your part of the world.
We used to go to Ottawa for Interlude. There was always snow and frigid cold, but so much fun. Skating on the canal and eating Bearclaws.
Yes, it’s a lot colder in Ottawa than it is here.