Dreaming of a white Christmas this year in Philly? Well, keep dreaming.
While lows in the area are expected to reach just below freezing and there's a chance of precipitation, snow isn't in the forecast for Wednesday, Dec. 25, and the city's snowless Christmas streak is expected to extend to 22 years.
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The last time Santa delivered some flakes was 2002, when 1.1 inches fell in the area. Since then, there have only been several close calls – with heavy snowfalls coming right around the holiday.
Just five days before Christmas in 2009, a storm buried Philadelphia. There were 23.2 inches of snow measured at the airport, making it the third highest total ever recorded in the city. In 2010, the city had the snowiest year in nearly a century – but there wasn't even a flurry on Christmas. In 2012, it snowed more than an inch on Dec. 26. And in 2020, a powerful nor'easter blanketed the region with snow a week before the holiday.
Since a daily record of 5.5 inches fell in 1909, Philly has had only seven Christmas Days with a significant snowfall (at least 0.2 inches) – a rate of only 6% over the 113-year span.
And climate change could make this snowless tradition hard to break. The average December temperature on Christmas over the past 10 years rose to 45 degrees – more than 3 degrees warmer than the previous decade – and Philly recently set a record with 715 consecutive days without snow, a streak that ended in January.
This weekend, on Friday night into Saturday, there is a slight chance of snow, according to the National Weather Service forecast, and the accumulation, if there is any, will be less than a half inch. Then on Sunday and Monday, the high temperatures will remain below or at freezing, and both days will be clear with no precipitation.
On Christmas Eve, there is a 30% chance of rain or snow in the afternoon. The high temperature will be 38, and the low will be 31 degrees.