NEW YORK – For the first time in 15 years, New York City woke up to a white Christmas with snow on the ground in Central Park.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service office in New York were out in Central Park on Christmas morning measuring the recent snow. With at least an inch of snow on the ground, the NWS declared this the first white Christmas for the city since 2009.
While holiday movies paint a picturesque idea of Christmas in snow-covered New York, an official white Christmas is actually rare. Since 1983, there have only been four times on Dec. 25 where snow measurements have met the inch-on-the-ground requirement for a white Christmas.
The most snowfall ever recorded on Christmas in Central Park happened in 1909 when 7 inches were on the ground.
After a cloudy Christmas morning this year, sunshine will break through and the city is forecast to reach a high of 36 degrees.