Will there be a white Christmas in Kansas City? Here’s what meteorologists say
Most Christmas movies have one thing in common: snow. Scenes of kids waking up on Christmas morning to look out their window and find their neighborhood blanketed in snow before running down the stairs to see presents under the tree are almost customary.
While movies can easily depict a white Christmas, the likelihood of snow falling on the holiday depends on where you live. Meteorologists with the National Weather Service define a white Christmas as having at least one inch of snow on the ground at 7 a.m. on the holiday.
Northern states are more likely to experience a white Christmas, while southern states see warmer weather. But what about Kansas City?
The last time it snowed on Christmas Day in Kansas City was in 2022, when the city woke up to an inch of snow. Before then, the city had last experienced snow on the holiday in 2017 and has had a total of 27 white Christmases since 1893, according to The Weather Channel.
What about 2024? Here’s what meteorologists say.
Will it snow on Christmas in Kansas City?
Kansas City’s average temperatures around this time support a white Christmas, but the likelihood of snow falling on the holiday is low, according to weather services.
The National Weather Service said there is an 18% chance of a white Christmas, while the Weather Channel says there is a 23% chance. The majority of Kansas and Missouri only average between 10 to 25% chance for snow on Christmas Day, the NWS says.
Based on NWS data from 1991 to 2020, the metro averages around 1.6 inches of precipitation in December. The average temperatures around this time of year include a high of 42.3 degrees, a low of 23.9 degrees and a normal of 33.1 degrees.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s climate.gov website also determined the historic probability of a white Christmas for cities across the United States based on the latest U.S. Climate normals, which are based on observed weather conditions between 1991 and 2020.
For Kansas City, the historic probability of a white Christmas is 19.8%, according to NOAA.
