Computer Models Make Their Christmas Forecast For East Texas

The average high temperature in Deep East Texas on Christmas Day is around 60 degrees. Several long-range forecasts have been released for our weather on December 25, and it looks like we could be 10-15 degrees higher than normal. This fits right along with what the Climate Prediction Center is forecasting for that period.

Climate Prediction Center/National Weather Service

So, just in case you had any delusions that Deep East Texas would have a shot of a white Christmas this season, as the magic 8-ball would say..."Don't Count On It." for 2025...more like which short-sleeved shirt will you be wearing?

When Was The Last White Christmas In The Pineywoods?

Chances are you don't remember it, because it happened nearly 100 years ago. In December 1929, a massive December snowfall brought much of central and east Texas to a standstill. A powerful Arctic blast swept through the state on December 20th and 21st. Temperatures plummeted into the single digits in some areas. A storm system dropped record-setting snowfall across a swath of central and eastern Texas, as well as portions of Louisiana.

Hillsboro, Texas, was covered with 26 inches of snow (the single-day snowfall record for Texas). A little further south, the Waco Metro received a foot or more of snow. However, the Dallas metro only got a dusting.

East Texas Snowfall

On December 21, many Deep East Texas cities received at least half a foot of snow. Here are some of those totals:

Lufkin - 11 inches
Nacogdoches - 12 inches
Groveton - 9 inches
Crockett - 10 inches
Huntsville - 8 inches
Palestine - 9 inches
Jacksonville - 11 inches
Henderson - 10 inches

Although the snowstorm had moved out of the area by December 25, a lot of snow remained on the ground for a 'White Christmas'.

Official Definition of a White Christmas

According to the National Weather Service, a White Christmas is defined as having one inch of snow on the ground as of 7 a.m. on December 25, or snowfall on Christmas Day covering the ground with at least one inch of snow.

The Surprise White Christmas of 2004

It's been nearly 100 years since the last white Christmas in the Pineywoods, but only around 20 years since it happened in Galveston. How could the beaches several hours to our south get a White Christmas, but not a flake of snow for much of Deep East Texas? That's just how the swath of precipitation lined up that Christmas Eve.

KPRC 2 via YouTube

If you lived south of Highway 59 from Victoria to Rosenberg or south of Houston from Rosenberg to Port Arthur, chances are you got hammered with snow. Take a look at these snowfall totals:

Brazoria - 13 inches
Ganado - 12 inches
Alvin - 6 inches
Jamaica Beach - 4 inches
Galveston - 4 inches
Pearland - 2 inches

Much of Houston received only a trace of snow, which is not enough to qualify for a White Christmas.

Christmas Movies Filmed In Texas OR About Texas

There are a ton of Christmas movies out there, and some of them were filmed here in Texas. One was filmed next door in Waco. Here is a list of movies filmed in and about Texas...or....filmed elsewhere but are ABOUT Texas.