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Austin weather history: The hottest, coldest and wettest Christmases over the years
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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Has Austin ever had snow on Christmas? The answer, which may comes as a surprise, is yes!
The National Weather Service has weather data for Austin dating back to the 1890s.
KXAN dug through the archives to find the hottest, coldest, wettest and, yes, snowiest(!) Christmases in history.
Austin has officially recorded a trace of snow once on Christmas Eve, in 1998, and once on Christmas Day, back in 1939.
Here's what it looked like outside the KXAN studios on Christmas Eve in 1998:
Technically though, Austin has never had an official 'white Christmas.' The official definition is 1 inch of snow on the ground during the National Weather Service's morning observation.
Austin is much more likely to see liquid precipitation on Christmas Eve and Day than snow. While both days see an average of less than a tenth of an inch of rain, several Christmases have seen much more than that.
Christmas Eve in 1975 and Christmas Day in 2000 both saw more than 1.5 inches of rain. Christmas Day 1938 also received more than an inch.
When it comes to the hottest Christmas in history, 1955 takes the top prize. The year ties with 1964 for the hottest Christmas Eve, at 82°, and on Christmas Day 1955, the temperature hit 90°, a full 10 degrees hotter than any other year.
On the opposite end, 1983 takes the top spot as coldest Christmas in history.
On Christmas Eve in 1983, the high temperature was just 23°, while the low dropped to a bone-chilling 12°. And on Christmas Day, temps maxed out at 25°, with a low of just 10°.
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More from our Austin Weather History series: