Will it be a white Christmas in New Orleans?

New Orleans, Louisiana · checked 2:48 pm CDT, Mon Oct 19

Christmas 2026

Forecasts reach about 7 days ahead, so nobody can say yet whether New Orleans will see snow on Christmas 2026. From December 18, 2026 this page shows the National Weather Service forecast for Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day.

Past Christmas Days in New Orleans

In none of the 28 Christmas Days from 1991 to 2025 with a snow-depth reading at New Orleans International Airport was there 1 inch of snow on the ground.

Snow fell on Christmas Day itself — any amount, even a trace — in 1 of the 32 years with a snowfall reading; 1 of them had 0.1 inch or more.

NOAA's 1991–2020 normals put the chance of at least 1 inch of snow on the ground in New Orleans around December 25 at 0.0% in the 1991–2020 record — rounded to one decimal, so a rare snow cover can still hide below it.

These are past Christmases, not a forecast for this year.

Every December 25 from 1991 to 2025
YearSnow on the groundSnow that fellWhite by NOAA's measure
2025no readingnone unknown
2024no readingnone unknown
2023no readingnone unknown
2022no readingnone unknown
2021no readingnone unknown
2020no readingnone unknown
20190 inchesnone No
20180 inchesnone No
20170 inchesnone No
20160 inchesnone No
20150 inchesnone No
20140 inchesnone No
20130 inchesnone No
20120 inchesnone No
20110 inchesnone No
20100 inchesno reading No
20090 inchesnone No
20080 inchesnone No
20070 inchesno reading No
20060 inchesnone No
20050 inchesnone No
20040 inches0.5 in No
2003no readingno reading unknown
20020 inchesnone No
20010 inchesnone No
20000 inchesnone No
19990 inchesnone No
19980 inchesnone No
19970 inchesnone No
19960 inchesnone No
19950 inchesnone No
19940 inchesnone No
19930 inchesnone No
19920 inchesnone No
19910 inchesnone No

Snow depth is measured once a day in whole inches; a trace is less than half an inch. "No reading" means the station sent none for that day.

Where these numbers come from

Past Christmas Days: snow depth and snowfall on December 25, 1991 to 2025, at New Orleans International Airport (GHCN-Daily station USW00012916, 18 km from the city centre), read through the Regional Climate Centers' ACIS service. Chance: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, daily normal DLY-SNWD-PCTALL-GE001WI for December 25, which NCEI defines as the probability in a 29-day window centred on the date; the same normals are behind NOAA's white Christmas map. Forecast: the National Weather Service API, from December 18. All US government data, public domain.

No bookmaker odds. This site does not predict snow; it repeats the official forecast and the record.

Will it snow in New Orleans? This week's forecast and first snow dates

Questions

Will it be a white Christmas in New Orleans in 2026?

Forecasts reach about 7 days ahead, so nobody can say yet whether New Orleans will see snow on Christmas 2026. From December 18, 2026 this page shows the National Weather Service forecast for Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day.

What are the chances of a white Christmas in New Orleans?

NOAA's 1991–2020 normals put the chance of at least 1 inch of snow on the ground in New Orleans around December 25 at 0.0% in the 1991–2020 record — rounded to one decimal, so a rare snow cover can still hide below it. It is the share of days with 1 inch or more on the ground in a 29-day window centred on December 25, so it describes late December, not the day alone.

When was the last white Christmas in New Orleans?

In none of the 28 Christmas Days from 1991 to 2025 with a snow-depth reading at New Orleans International Airport was there 1 inch of snow on the ground.

Would New Orleans count as white by the UK rule?

At this one station, snow was seen falling on 1 of the 32 Christmas Days with a snowfall reading from 1991 to 2025 — the Met Office's test. The UK rule counts a single snowflake anywhere in the country, not at one station.

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