Will it be a white Christmas? A 50-year look at Canada’s snowfall on Dec. 25

Most Canadians still wake up to snow-blanketed streets on Christmas morning. Last year, 76 per cent enjoyed a white Christmas, defined by Environment and Climate Change Canada as at least two centimetres of snow on the ground by 7 a.m. on Dec. 25. But the experience of trudging through knee-deep drifts is becoming less likely as Decembers grow warmer and snowfall declines.

A Globe and Mail analysis of 50 years of weather data from 43 cities and ski destinations shows that while white Christmases remain frequent, snow depth is shrinking. In the past five years, 27 locations have seen thinner snowpacks – accumulated snow – compared with their long-term averages, calculated from 1975 to 2024.