A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
Most of us dream of a white Christmas, but in Utah and the West, Mother Nature does not always deliver.
In fact, weather services have suggested that northern Utah usually enjoys a white Christmas about 60%-65% of the time since 1940, when such numbers were consistently tracked.
Stories in the Deseret News talk of unusually cold and wet years in the late 1800s around Salt Lake City, as well as some years where planting began much earlier than ideal.
This year, prognosticators say a small storm moving through Utah on Tuesday and Wednesday could bring snow mixed with rain. A white Christmas is generally defined as an inch of snow on the ground.
Recently, The Washington Post compiled available data for a fun interactive story — “Snow for the Holidays” — on its website.
Per accounts, the greatest snow depth in Utah was 14 inches on Christmas 1932. Christmas 1943 also reported a significant snowstorm on Dec. 24-25.