Dreaming of a white Christmas? Sorry, no snow in the Knoxville holiday forecast this year

Devarrick Turner, Knoxville News Sentinel

Unless Santa sprinkles some snow from his sleigh as his reindeer fly over East Tennessee, Knoxville is unlikely to see a white Christmas this year. Sorry, snow lovers, it’s looking more like it’ll be a rainy and warm Christmas, instead.

“It's a fairly uneventful forecast. Just standard rain showers,” National Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Snowdin told Knox News Dec. 20. “We're looking at kind of above-normal temperatures for Christmas Day.”

Widespread rain is expected to move across East Tennessee Dec. 25 and into the evening. Knoxville could get just under a half-inch of rain.

The holiday also will be unusually warm. With a high of 60 degrees, the temperature will be around 11 degrees higher than normal, according to NWS Morristown data. Obviously that's too warm for any wintry precipitation.

The biggest concern is breezy and gusty winds in the mountains, said Snowdin, especially as people travel during the holiday. The winds could linger the day after Christmas, too.

Why a ‘wet Christmas’ is welcomed

Though we’ll likely be seeing puddles instead of snowmen, rain is still a welcome present for East Tennessee. Much of the area, which experienced several wildfires and burn bans in November, remains in moderate and severe drought conditions, according to the latest Climate Prediction Center report.

“(The Christmas rain) is not looking like an event that's gonna really particularly take us out of drought conditions, but it'll continue to keep us from at least having it get any worse, with minor improvements,” Snowdin said.

East Tennessee was under “extreme drought conditions” last month. Heavy rain periods since have improved the conditions somewhat.

Knoxville's most recent white Christmas was in 2020. The Moulden family spent part of that day playing in the snow. "He loves being outside," said Katrina Moulden, left, of her one-year-old son Xavier, 1, who was playing in snow for the first time.
Knoxville's most recent white Christmas was in 2020. The Moulden family spent part of that day playing in the snow. "He loves being outside," said Katrina Moulden, left, of her one-year-old son Xavier, 1, who was playing in snow for the first time.

Will Knoxville get snow before 2024?

It won’t be feeling like Christmas outside any time soon. Temperatures will continue to lean above normal, and precipitation will be near or just below normal through Jan. 3, according to the Climate Prediction Center’s extended outlook.

Knoxvillians last woke up to a couple of inches of snow on Christmas Day in 2020 and the white Christmas before that was in 2010. The area has had eight white Christmases within the last 113 years, according to National Weather Service records.

Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter @dturner1208.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: No snow in Knoxville 2023 Christmas forecast, just rain

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