Dear Tom,
Of the ten snowiest winters in Chicago history, how many had a white Christmas?
-Lt. Pat Byrne, Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Dear Pat,
A snowy winter in Chicago does not guarantee a white Christmas (at least one inch of
snow on the ground), but it does increase the odds. Historically, only four Christmases
in 10 have met the one-inch criterion
But Chicago weather historian Frank Wachowski found that six of the city's 10 snowiest
winters had white Christmases. Last winter was Chicago's eighth snowiest with 60.3
inches, yet the ground was bare on Christmas morning.
Chicago's snowiest winter (1978-79 with 89.7 inches) and the city's least-snowy winter
(1920-21 with 9.8 inches), barely qualified, each with only a one-inch Christmas
morning snow cover.
