The Biggest Christmas Snowstorm to Ever Hit Tennessee Was a Holiday Miracle

Tennessee is not a state that regularly enjoys snow on Christmas. In fact, based on historical weather data, a white Christmas in Tennessee is exceptionally rare. On average, only 38 percent of the lower 48 states have at least an inch of snow on the ground at Christmastime. That’s why the biggest Christmas snowstorm to ever hit Tennessee was a holiday miracle.

Pre-Christmas Storm of 1963

The National Weather Service in Nashville, Tennessee’s capital, says that there is only an eight percent chance of more than 0.1 inches of snow on the ground any given year on Christmas Day. A white Christmas, when there is at least an inch of snow covering, however, is even more rare. There have only been five times Nashville got to enjoy the magic of a white Christmas since 1948.

With only a two-percent chance of a white Christmas in Nashville, the pre-Christmas storm of 1963 remains the record for the most snow on the ground on Christmas Day. Starting December 22, 1963, a three-day snowstorm blanketed all of Tennessee in rare December snow. A wave of subfreezing temperatures gripped much of the state at the same time.

Christmas Snow in Nashville, TN

Residents of Nashville, which averages about 3.9 inches of snow a year, woke up to a record white Christmas on December 25, 1963. There were six inches of snow on the ground Christmas morning from the three-day Christmas snowstorm in Tennessee that started on December 22. This is the most snow ever on the ground in Nashville on Christmas!

While no snow fell on Christmas Day, 5.9 inches fell on December 22, 1963. The snow continued into the next day, dropping another 1.5 inches. A trace amount fell on Christmas Eve, according to the National Weather Service.

Snow has been measured in Nashville since the winter of 1884 and 1885 when the Army Signal Corps began taking snow measurements in addition to temperature.

Check out these old photos from the Tennessean of people out in the snow in December 1963 in Nashville.

Christmas Snow in Memphis, TN

Tennessee’s second-largest city is known for being the home of the blues and the birthplace of Rock and Roll, not for snow. With an average of only 3.1 inches of snow annually, it is the least snowiest city out of Tennessee’s three major cities.

Long-timers of the Memphis area likely remember the holiday miracle of Christmas 1963 when they woke to 10 inches of snow on the ground that morning! The storm dropped 14.3 inches total between December 22-24. This was the biggest snowfall of the century, and the most since March of 1892.

The city of Memphis had to wait until 1998 for another white Christmas when one inch of snow covered the ground on December 25.

Watch this vintage video of the snow in Memphis on December 23, 1963.

Snowfall in Memphis on Christmas Day

Measurable Christmas Day snowfall is so rare, it has only happened once in Memphis in more than 140 years of records. In 1913, Memphis residents got the extraordinary treat of looking out their windows to see 3.5 inches of snow falling exactly on December 25, according to the Memphis Weather Blog. There have been other Christmas Days where snowflakes have made an appearance, although with no accumulation on the ground. During the four-year span from 2009-2012, snow flurries fell three times on Christmas Day.