The Czech Republic experienced record Christmas snowfall exactly 50 years ago. Liberec has the best chance for a white Christmas

Meteorologists recorded the lowest temperature during Christmas 2001, when a respectable -35.5 °C was measured at Horská Kvilda.

The long-term average from 1991-2020 states that the daily air temperature for December 24 is -0.4 °C. The highest recorded temperature in history is 14.5 °C and was measured in 1958 at the Lučina station in the Moravian-Silesian Region and also in Kolín in 1977.

However, it also follows from the ČHMÚ data that since 2008 the average air temperature in the Czech Republic has not fallen below 0 °C. Unfortunately, even this year’s Christmas will not be part of this series, although it should be cooler compared to previous years.

Cities and snowfall have not gone well together in recent years, but it wasn’t always like that. For example, in 2001, the coldest Christmas Day was recorded in Pardubice. The thermometer needle then dropped to -23.5 °C. This is the lowest temperature on record among all regional cities.

On the other hand, the highest temperature was measured in České Budějovice in 1977. At that time, the mercury climbed to a spring-like 14.2 °C.

As far as snowfall is concerned, it seems that the most favorable place for winter lovers is the city of Liberec. In 1980, the most snow fell here on Christmas Day, namely 40 cm. Liberec is also the regional capital, where the probability of a white Christmas is the highest according to the data of the ČHMÚ. The chance there is about 60 percent.

Karlovy Vary, Jihlava and Zlín share the second place. In these cities, the probability of a white Christmas is between 30 and 40 percent. Conversely, those with the lowest probability include, of course, Prague, followed by Pardubice, Hradec Králové or Pilsen. In all these cities, the chance of a white Christmas is only up to 20 percent.

It seems that even our ancestors noticed the recurring trend of sudden warming at Christmas time or the connection between the temperatures in December and the subsequent onset of spring. We will list the following from the forerunners: “Wait for Adam and Eve topping” or Christmas on ice – Easter on mud.

Christmas frosting belongs to the so-called weather singularities, just like grandma’s summer. Simply put, it is a kind of “exception that proves the rule”. That is, a repeating pattern that appears more often than it can be called a mere deviation. Gradual changes in the climate are beginning to rapidly disrupt previously valid ancient norms.

Let’s remember, for example, New Year’s Eve 2022, when temperatures climbed above 18 °C. Milder warming arrived this year as well during mid-December. The outlook for the next few days shows a more or less similar pattern of weather that will last at least until the end of the year. Specifically, daytime temperatures will be up to 5 °C and nighttime minimums up to -4 to -5 °C.

So this year is not the real “winter” from fairy tales, but rather a kind of meteorological “parody” of winter. Memories of the “Lado winter” are thus slowly heading towards the abyss of meteorological history.