A white Christmas in Georgia? Unfortunately not

ATLANTA - For most Georgians, a "white Christmas" is either a dream or a distant memory. You’d have to go back to 2010 to find the last time snow fell across the Peach State on Dec. 25. Now, after more than a decade of snowless Christmases, many are hoping for wintry weather in Atlanta and North Georgia this holiday season.

The last white Christmas in Georgia

On Dec. 25, 2010, a rare Christmas Day snowstorm swept across Georgia, marking the first measurable snowfall in the Atlanta metro area since 1881. Snowfall ranged from 1–3 inches in metro Atlanta to as much as 8 inches in the north Georgia mountains. Precipitation initially began as rain on Christmas Eve, transitioning to snow as temperatures dropped. The snow continued into Dec. 26, bringing additional accumulations in east-central Georgia. Bitterly cold temperatures, strong winds, and icy roads created hazardous conditions, with wind chills plunging to the single digits, according to the National Weather Service.

The forecast leading up to Christmas

After a cold snap in the days leading up to Christmas, temperatures are on the uphill swing across North Georgia. Look for highs in the 50s with sunny skies on Christmas Eve. Those clear skies will give way to colder temperatures for Christmas morning before we rebound into the 50s for Christmas afternoon. Initially, it looked like showers could have arrived before sunset. However, those appear to be running late. Expect scattered showers after the holiday.

KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST BY DOWNLOADING THE FREE FOX 5 STORM TEAM APP AND FOLLOWING @FOX5STORMTEAM ON X, FORMERLY TWITTER

We have seen temperatures a lot colder and a lot warmer in the past. Highs have been as warm as the 70s and lows as cold as the single digits.

The warmest high in Atlanta was 75 degrees in 2015. The coldest high was 17 degrees in 1983.

Although Christmas is usually dry in North Georgia, there has been significant rain upon occasion.

In 1945, there was 2.06 inches of rain in Atlanta and 3.32 inches in Columbus.

Unfortunately, there have also been tornadoes in Georgia on Christmas Day.

In 1964, an F2 tornado hit Crisp County in the afternoon hours. And on Dec. 26, 1964, a strong F3 tornado hit Crawford, Jones, Bladwin and Hancock counties and 2 people were killed in Jones County.

NEARBY CITIES

If you are traveling to nearby cities for Christmas, here's what you might run into:

Chattanooga is expected to experience variable cloudiness with a couple of showers. The high temperature will be around 59 degrees, with a low near 42. Very similar weather is expected for the Nashville area.

It will be a little bit warmer in Gatlinburg on Christmas Day. The high temperature is expected to be around 61 degrees with a low near 37. However, it will also be cloudy.

If you are traveling to Charleston, South Carolina, the forecasted high temperature is around 59 degrees, with a low near 39 degrees, and it will be partly sunny.

And if you are headed towards Pensacola, Florida, the high temperature will also be around 59 degrees, with a low near 40. And, there is an 8% chance of rain.  

Of course, there are some mountains and ski resorts in West Virginia where you can find snow. 

WHAT CITIES WILL HAVE A WHITE CHRISTMAS?

If you really want to experience a white Christmas, you will have to travel quite a few hours up the road to find any.

Burlington, Vermont, has a strong chance of snow on Christmas Day, and Portland, Maine, is expected to have snow on the ground for Christmas.

Albany, New York, may have snow on the ground and there's a good chance that Concord, New Hampshire, will also have a white Christmas.