KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A white Christmas doesn’t happen every year in Kansas City; in fact, most years aren’t a white Christmas.
But one appears possible in 2022 according to the latest forecast.
Most of Kansas City’s white Christmases don’t actually feature accumulating snow on Christmas Day itself, but rather snow that’s still on the ground that fell a few days prior.
The National Weather Service’s office in Kansas City looked back to 1952 and found 52 of the last 70 (74 percent) Christmases have had no snow and no new snow fall. Eleven Christmases had between one and three inches of snow on the ground, with five more having at least three inches on the ground.
It will start to feel more like Christmas here by the end of the week. (Of course we are talking about temperatures!) 🥶
— NWS Kansas City (@NWSKansasCity) December 12, 2022
While we can't guarantee any white stuff quite yet, we can let you ponder what our chances might be for a 2022 white Christmas with this 50-year history. ❄️🎄 pic.twitter.com/rJRrdb4dIO
The most recent white Christmas in Kansas City came back in 2017 when at least an inch of snow was on the ground.
Kansas City saw back-to-back white Christmases in 2012 and 2013, with more than three inches of snow on the ground in 2013.
Perhaps the most memorable recent white Christmas in Kansas City came in 2009, when many locations across northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri picked up several inches of snow starting on Christmas Eve.
The snowfall lead to travel headaches across the Midwest.
The 2009 Christmas was the third Christmas in a row where snow was around on Christmas Day. The 2007 snowfall also led to widespread travel concerns, including flight delays at Kansas City International Airport.
If the Kansas City area gets a white Christmas this year, it will break a four-year drought that started in 2018.
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