A Look Back At Oklahoma’s Significant Christmas Day Weather Events

Oklahoma residents are always dreaming of a white Christmas because they are so rare. Usually when Oklahoma actually gets a white Christmas, it's usually a full-on blizzard. But Oklahoma has also seen icy Christmas events and above-average warm Christmas Days.

The National Weather Service in Norman keeps track of Oklahoma's wildest weather, and has noted 11 significant weather events in Oklahoma that have occurred on Christmas Day since 1914.

Surprisingly, not all of the events are historic blizzards or catastrophic ice storms.

Oklahoma's Significant Christmas Day Weather Events

1914 - A winter storm impacted southwest and central Oklahoma with three to nine inches of snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

1922 - Oklahoma recorded a scorcher Christmas Day with daytime highs reaching 73 degrees in Oklahoma City, making it the warmest Christmas on record. This was tied in 2016 for Oklahoma City, but Lawton and Stillwater reached 75 degrees.

1939 - A winter storm impacted western, southern and central Oklahoma from December 24-26. Heavy snow impacted the areas, resulting in three to eight inches. Enid recorded 11.8 inches. However, some areas had temperatures at or above freezing, so most of it melted after hitting the ground.

1955 - Oklahoma reached 86 degrees on Christmas Eve and still stands as the all-time high temperature for December in Oklahoma City.

1975 - Rain on Christmas Eve shifted into snow that afternoon and continued into the morning on Christmas Day. Around three inches fell but melted as hit the ground due to temperatures being at or above freezing.

1983 - Oklahoma woke up to a bitter cold Christmas Day with wind chills as low as 27 below were recorded. The high was 13 on Christmas Day, which was warmer than Christmas Eve which saw a high of three above zero.

1987 - A two-day ice storm began before sunrise on Christmas Day and left parts of Oklahoma without power for more than a week. Two inches of sleet and ice were recorded with only a trace of snow.

1989 - The week of Christmas saw a wild warm-up. The week started at minus four degrees and within two days warmed up to the 50s by Christmas Day.

2000 - Oklahoma saw a repeat of 1987 with a winter storm taking place December 25-26. Significant accumulations of ice and snow began on Christmas Day and into Dec. 26. Eight to 12 inches fell across northwest Oklahoma. Snow, sleet and freezing rain fell across central Oklahoma from two to eight inches. And one of the worst ice storms impacted southwest Oklahoma with sleet and ice accumulations up to one to two inches. Around 170,000 residents statewide experience power outages, and some didn't receive power back till two weeks after the storm.

2009 - Christmas Eve saw a record-setting blizzard with five to seven inches across southwest and central Oklahoma. Some areas reported 10 inches of snow. The snowstorm was made worse due to the high winds and all major highways were shutdown by the afternoon.

2012 - Southern and western Oklahoma experienced considerable snowfall from Christmas Eve and into Christmas Day. Brief blizzard conditions resulted in over six inches of snow in parts of Oklahoma and gusty north winds created blowing and drifting of snow, making it difficult to measure.