History Of Christmas Holidays
During 1963-2019
( 57 Years )
The following documents weather history of Christmases spanning 57 years. While centered upon the mountain area surrounding Clintwood, Norton-Wise, and the High Knob Massif, it is certain to bring back memories for all. Enjoy!
1963
Christmas morning dawned to a 9″ snow depth in Clintwood (down from 12″ on 24 December). By 5:00 PM on Christmas day, snow had settled to a mean depth of 6″ at Wise 1 SE located on the campus of The University Of Virginia’s College At Wise ( formerly Clinch Valley College).
1964
Stormy Holiday. A total of 1.11″ of rain fell in Clintwood during the 24-26 December period, to include a rare thunderstorm on the morning after Christmas ( MAX temperature of 66 degrees officially observed in Wise on 24 December 1964 ).
1965
Bare in the lower elevations on Christmas morning with a trace of snow on the ground 26 December 1965. A trace of snowfall was also observed in Wise, with falling temperatures Christmas Day to a reading of 29 degrees by 5:00 PM.
1966
A Christmas morning snow depth of 8″ was measured in the town of Clintwood ( southern exposed site at 1780 feet above sea level ), with 7″ in Wise. A MIN temp of 2 degrees (F) was also recorded at Wise 1 SE.
1967
A trace of Christmas morning snow depth in Clintwood was followed by a major winter storm during 27-30 December ( e.g., 9.2″ of snow were measured in Wise just during the 24-hours ending at 5:00 PM on 28 December 1967 ).
1968
A 1″ snow depth on 24 December melted to only a trace on southern exposures within the town of Clintwood by Christmas morning.
A cold Christmas Day followed with a MAX temperature of 26 degrees in Wise.
1969
A trace of Christmas morning snow depth in Clintwood gave way to major winter storm conditions, with 8″ of mean depth measured by the next day in both Clintwood and Wise.
A 10″ snow depth was also measured within Lee County by weather observer Denver Garrett.
1970
A bare ground Christmas morning gave way to 1.2″ of snowfall by the morning of 26 December 1970 within Clintwood. A total of 3.4″ of snow were measured at Wise 1 SE by its 5:00 PM observation time on Christmas afternoon.
1971
No snow on the ground in Clintwood during Christmas with only 4.7″ of total snowfall being measured in Wise during the entire, combined November-December period of 1971.
1972
Wet. A rainfall total of 0.29″ in Clintwood into Christmas morning, with rain changing to snow on 26 December ( 1.0″ of snow was officially measured in Wise during 26-27 December in 1972 ).
1973
Several inches of snow depth prior to the holiday melted to only a trace on southern exposed locations in the town of Clintwood by Christmas Eve. A total of 2.18″ of rain measured at Wise 1 SE in the 24-hours ending at 5:00 PM on 26 December 1973.
1974
Rainy again with a total of 0.45″ measured in Clintwood into Christmas morning in 1974. Most of Christmas Day was engulfed within fog in Wise, with a 5:00 PM temperature of 34 degrees.
1975
Just a trace of Christmas morning snow depth in Clintwood. A wet holiday period that eventually turned white, with 1.31″ of total precipitation measured in Wise during 25-27 December 1975 (ending with 1.3″ of snow).
1976
A snow depth of 1″ at Clintwood 1 W on Christmas morning, located 1 mile west of town at 1566 feet above sea level in the Russell Fork Basin.
A total of 4″ on the ground in Wise at 5 PM Christmas Day ( 2.5″ of new snow during the afternoon ).
Part of a snowy period that produced 6.0″ of total snowfall in Wise during the 25-27 December period in 1976.
[The year of 1976 marked the beginning of my personal and later official snowfall measurements ( as I got old enough to walk and do the JOB! ) ].
1977
A rainfall total of 0.49″ into Christmas morn in Clintwood, with evening snow developing (1″ on the ground at Clintwood 1 W and in Wise by morning of 26 December). Turning bitter cold with temps dropping from 31 degrees at Wise 1 SE at 5:00 PM Christmas day to 4 degrees by the morning of 26 December 1977.
1978
Only a trace of snow depth at Clintwood 1 W on Christmas morning.
1979
Snow, sleet, and freezing rain all fell into mountain valleys during Christmas, with heavy snow across higher elevations. A 3″ snow depth was reported at Wise 1 SE by its 5 PM observation time on Christmas day (3.6″ of total snowfall). This followed a 61 degree Christmas Eve maximum temperature in Wise on 24 December 1979.
1980
Christmas Holiday snowfall totals of 1.1″ at Clintwood 1 W and 1.6″ at Wise 1 SE were observed during 25-26 December in 1980.
1981
Christmas morning found 1.0″ of snowfall at Clintwood 1 W, with 1.3″ of snow reported at Wise 1 SE. A cold day, with 28 degrees in Wise at its 5:00 PM observation time on 25 December 1981.
1982
Warmest Christmas on record!
The maximum temperature reached 69 degrees in Wise to establish the highest Christmas temperature ever observed since record keeping began in 1955. This reading was taken at an elevation of 2560 feet at Wise 1 SE, with lower elevations warmer (75 degrees recorded in the town of Pennington Gap ) and higher elevations cooler.
1983
Coldest Christmas on record!
The minimum temperature fell to a bitter -13 degrees Fahrenheit below zero in Wise to establish the lowest temperature ever observed since record keeping began in 1955. Unofficial MINS as bitter as -25 (F) were reported in the mountain area (i.e., lowest temperatures for Christmas).
1984
A rainfall total of 0.70″ was measured into Christmas morning in the City of Norton (at the Norton Water Plant), with 0.49″ in Clintwood. Only a few snow flurries were observed.
1985
Heavy snow developed right on cue for Christmas Eve, with 3″ to 4″ on the ground Christmas day at Clintwood 1 W. Plunging temperatures produced a bitter 6 degree above zero reading by 8 PM (by 5 PM in Wise) on Christmas day.
Snow depths were deeper, temperatures and wind chills much lower, across upper elevations above 3000 feet.
1986
A rainfall total of 1.42″ was measured at Norton WP during the Christmas Holiday, with 1.18″ in Clintwood ( mostly fell during Christmas Eve Day, with foggy conditions Christmas day ).
1987
Wettest Christmas Holiday on record! A total of 4.55″ of rain fell at the City of Norton Water Plant during December 24-27, with locally greater amounts across the High Knob Massif ( a rainfall total of 2.40″ in Wise established the 24-hour record for Christmas, ending at 5 PM on Christmas day in 1987 ).
*The mid to late 1980’s marked the beginning of weather observations in upper elevations of the High Knob Massif.
1988
Powerful afternoon thunderstorms prompted a rare, late season tornado watch during 24 December 1988 ( Franklin, Tn., was devastated by a twister). Rainfall totals reached 1.40″ at Norton Water Plant and 0.71″ at Clintwood 1 W during Christmas Eve. Dry and much cooler conditions dominated Christmas day.
1989
Arctic cold & snow. Temperatures as cold as -20+ degrees below zero occurred amid upper elevation basins from the High Knob Massif to Burkes Garden during December 23-25. A mean 4″ snow depth was observed at Wise 1 SE on Christmas day, with deeper depths amid the High Knob Massif.
1990
NWS Cooperative Stations in Clintwood and Wise were the only official sites in Virginia to report at least 1″ of snow depth during Christmas ( included northern slopes in the City of Norton, with deeper depths along the High Knob Massif ).
1991
Snow flurries fell on Christmas Eve with none on the ground amid the lower elevations at Clintwood 1 W on Christmas. A 21 degree MIN temperature recorded in Wise on Christmas morning.
1992
Heavy snow developed Christmas afternoon with up to 6″+ accumulating in mid-upper elevations of the High Knob Landform and Tennessee Valley Divide. A total snowfall of 2.6″ was observed in Clintwood with a local MIN of 3.4″ in Wise ( much more nearby ).
1993
Snow developed during Christmas day with intense afternoon snow squalls (whiteout bursts). A snow depth of 6″ was measured at Clintwood 1 W by early hours of 26 December. Air temperatures plunged to -3 (F) below zero atop Eagle Knob of the High Knob Massif, amid snow depths of up to 12″+ in 1993.
1994
A Christmas morning snow depth of 1″ was observed at the summit level of the High Knob Massif, with no snow in lower elevation valleys (MIN of 23 degrees in Clintwood on Christmas, with 18 degrees on morning of 26 December 1994 ).
1995
A 1″ snow depth on Christmas morning increased during the day with a total of 4.2″ of new snow falling at Clintwood 1 W during Christmas day. Snow depths of 6″ to 8″ were reported across the great High Knob Massif ( MIN of 9 degrees in Wise on the morning of 24 December 1995 ).
1996
A cold wave prior to the Christmas holiday was felt with 3 degrees in Norton and 5 degrees in Wise on the morning of 21 December 1996.
A warming trend brought rain, not snow, with totals varying from 0.58″ in Clintwood up to 1.01″ in the City of Norton into 24 December of 1996. Only a few Christmas morning snow flurries were observed.
1997
Mostly cloudy and mild with 0.15″ of rain at Clintwood 1 W and 0.26″ at Norton WP for the 24-hours ending Christmas morning.
Major back to back winter storms followed the holiday with snow depths of 12″ in Norton and 18″ to 36″ across the High Knob Massif by 31 December 1997.
1998
An ice storm occurred during 23-24 December with 1″ of packed ice-sleet remaining on the ground at Clintwood 1 W on Christmas morning (MIN of 10 degrees above zero).
Heavy snowfall followed the holiday for the second consecutive year, with depths of 4″ in Clintwood and 6″ to 10″+ across the sprawling High Knob Massif by 31 December 1998.
1999
Snow fell during December 24-25 with Christmas morning depths of 3″ at Clintwood 1 W and 7″ atop the High Knob Massif. MIN temperatures reached 3 degrees in Norton and 5 degrees in Wise.
2000
A trace of snow was observed on the ground Christmas morning at Clintwood 1 W, with patchy 1″ depths on northern slopes ( 22/6 degree extremes ).
A Christmas morning snow depth of 2″ at City of Norton Water Plant, with 4″-6″ across the High Knob Massif, featured frigid conditions [3 degree morning MIN at Norton Elementary School (Norton ES AWS) amid the Norton Valley of southern Wise County].
2001
Bare ground was observed across the entire Appalachian range, south of the Pennsylvania border, on Christmas morning. A frigid Christmas minimum of 11 degrees (F) was recorded on the Eagle Knob of High Knob (8 degrees on AM 26 December 2001).
2002
A trace of snow was observed on the ground at 7 AM in Clintwood, with 1″ at the City of Norton Water Plant (deeper depths in the High Knob high country). New snow fell during Christmas day with the snow depth increasing to 4″ at the Norton Water Plant.
2003
A trace was observed on the ground at 7 AM at Clintwood 1 W, with 1″ of accumulation by 9:00 AM.
A snow depth of 5″ was measured at City of Norton WP at 9:00 AM (4-5″ at 7 AM). This was down from a maximum mean depth of 14″ on the morning of 21 December.
Christmas morning depths were much deeper on the northern slopes of the High Knob Massif, above the City of Norton, where maximum depths had reached 20″ or more on 21 December 2003.
2004
Bare ground was observed across much of the mountain area, with lingering snow covering only upper north slopes of the High Knob Massif.
Local snow depths of up to 9″ were measured on 30 December across northern slopes in the head of High Knob Lake Basin, after 44-hours of above freezing temps were recorded on Eagle Knob since Christmas (suggesting Christmas morning depths were a foot or more on north slopes of lofty High Knob Lake Basin).
Christmas morning temps reached 6 degrees in the City of Norton, with 10 degrees at Clintwood 1 W, prior to late month warming.
2005
Christmas Eve found a solid blanket of snow covering only upper elevations of the High Knob Massif, with a generally bare landscape below 3000 feet. Cold rain, with areas of sleet and freezing rain, overspread the mountains during the evening.
Roadways, like Alternate 58 between Norton and Castlewood, became extremely hazardous with numerous traffic accidents and abandoned vehicles.
Christmas day itself featured an array of weather conditions including rain showers, fog, rare thunder-lightning, localized peeps of sunshine, and a evening transition to light snow at upper elevations (above 3000 feet) .
The day following Christmas found a general 1″-2″ snow accumulation around Clintwood, Norton, and Wise, with 2″ to locally as much as 5″ reported across the upper elevations above 3000 feet. Precipitation totals during the 24-26 Dec period reached 0.46″ at Clintwood 1 W, 0.78″-0.82″ in the City of Norton, and up to 1.12″ in the high country near High Knob.
[This marked the 4th White Christmas in a row atop the High Knob Massif, and the 6th White Christmas out of the past seven for upper elevations of the massif ( especially the northern slopes )].
2006
Bare ground was again featured across the entire Appalachian range south of the Pennsylvania border during 24-26 December 2006.
Christmas got off to a chilly, wet start as predawn rain overspread the mountains on gusty SE-SSE flow across mid-upper elevations. Downsloping combined with pronounced dry slotting to generate partly to mostly sunny skies for a while during mid-morning to early afternoon, with temps soaring into the 55 to 60 degree range across lower-middle elevations below 3000 feet. Much cooler conditions prevailed across upper elevations of the High Knob Massif, where an array of upslope generated cap clouds and standing mountain leewave clouds formed on the strong SE winds.
Snowflakes flew, for the second year in a row, the day following Christmas, with 0.5 inches of mixed snow-sleet at Clintwood 1 W and locally 2-3″+ of snow-rime in highest elevations of the High Knob Massif.
2007
Bare ground was again featured, for the second consecutive Christmas, across the entire Appalachian range south of the Pennsylvania border during 24-25 December (the 3rd Christmas holiday this decade to be completely bare of snow south of the Pennsylvania border, even on highest summits).
Despite 1″ or more of snow on the ground up through morning of 20 December, in the High Knob Massif, warming temperatures and a couple rainfall events washed all snow from even coldest, northern slopes.
It had been an anemic start to winter across the great southern Appalachians, with only 4″ to 7″ of snowfall amid the sprawling High Knob Massif during weeks prior to Christmas (in December), and just 2.5″ in lower elevations at Clintwood 1 W.
*A fitting conclusion for this driest year on record (45.00″ to 50.00″ of total precip in Big Cherry Basin of High Knob) within the local mountains!
2008
A break in the mild, wet pattern of December 2008 raised hopes that a White Christmas would finally return to decorate the mountain landscape, as bitter arctic air poured into the southern Appalachians during 21 December.
Wind chill factors dipped to -12 F below zero in Wise early on 22 December, with air temps from -6 below zero on Eagle Knob of the High Knob Massif to 7 above in Clintwood. Bitter cold, however, left as fast as it arrived with strong SSE-SSW winds ROARing across mountain ridges-plateaus by later on 23 December into Christmas Eve day of 2008.
Rain, NOT snow, arrived in time for Christmas Eve gatherings, with up to 0.60 inches measured at Big Cherry Dam of High Knob on a wind driven upslope flow (0.21″ fell in Clintwood).
For the third consecutive year, and fourth time this decade, Christmas day dawned with no snow on the ground south of the Pennsylvania border. Even the most favored, and typically snow laden northern slope locations like the lofty High Knob Lake Basin, Mount Rogers, Mount LeConte, Tn., and Snowshoe Mountain in northeastern West Virginia were bare. Amazing!
2009
White Christmas IN THE DARK!
A major pre-holiday snowstorm crippled and buried the mountain landscape during 18-19 December 2009 to generate a MEGA-disaster event (96% of Dickenson County lost electricity). The morning of 19 December found 2 to 3 feet of snow depth, with 4-5+ feet drifts, across upper elevations of the High Knob Massif, with 1 to 1.5 feet of snow more common across low-mid elevations below 3000 feet. A notable exception being Big Stone Gap where only 2″ of snow stuck along the Powell River, generating a huge short-distance contrast with feet of snow blanketing adjacent Big Cherry Lake basin.
Mega-Disaster Snowstorm Of December 2009
High density snow devastated much of central-northern Scott, Wise, Dickenson, and Buchanan counties, below 3000 feet, with miles of downed power lines, many hundreds of broken poles, and the most massive tree damage ever observed from a snowstorm (topping January 1998 destruction).
Despite warming and rain into Christmas day, general 6-10 inches of Christmas Eve snow depth remained at Clintwood 1 W. This diminished to a mean of 6 inches by Christmas morning (then 2-6 inches into early hours of 26 December 2009).
Water gushed out of the snow laden High Knob high country during Christmas day, with strong rises on whitewater creeks and headwater rivers of the Clinch and Powell river basins (e.g., Big Stony Creek and Little Stony Creek of the renowned Clinch River and South Fork of the Powell River).
2010
The second consecutive White Christmas in a row greeted the mountain landscape as light-moderate snow, with embedded heavier bursts, dominated the overnight to sunrise period of Christmas Morn to generate an idyllic 2″ to 3″ coating of pristine white over old snow. This as a major winter storm took shape across the already snowy mountains.
Cloudy and cold conditions ruled Christmas Eve day, with maximum temperatures in the 20s to around 30 degrees from Norton-Wise north to Clintwood. This occurred as mid-high altitude cloudiness lowered and thickened ahead of the developing winter storm. Doppler indicated virga began reaching the summit level of the High Knob Massif during evening hours of Christmas Eve as the atmosphere saturated from the top downward.
Christmas morning snow depths varied from around 5″ ( 3″ to 7″ ) in Clintwood and the City of Norton to as much as 15″ at higher elevations amid the High Knob Massif ( deeper in drifts ).
What began as a moderately wet snow turned fluffy and snow showery in nature by the afternoon hours of December 26, with large dendritic flakes and other crystal forms arising as gusty winds increased upsloping amid increasingly bitter air.
Afternoon temperatures in the 10s from Norton-Wise into the High Knob high country fell to single digits on Eagle Knob by 7:00 PM on December 26 as snowfall turned heavy to mark the most intense period of this prolonged December 25-27 winter storm event ( 9.0″ of new snow fell in High Chaparral of the High Knob Massif from PM of December 26 into AM of December 27, 2010 ).
Snowfall Totals for the Christmas Storm of 2010
Clintwood 1 W: 12.2″
City of Norton WP: 12.6″
Nora 4 SSE on Long Ridge: 15.0″
High Chaparral of High Knob Massif: 18.5″
*Eagle Knob of High Knob Massif: 23.0″
*Approximate storm snowfall total ( local amounts may have been greater or less within the main crest zone ). A general 4″ to 5″ of total settlement was observed during this event given the low density of the fluffy snowfall from 25 Dec (PM) to 27 Dec (AM).
Mean snow depths reached around 10″ in both Clintwood and Norton, varying from 7″ to 13″, with 14″ or more of mean depth on Long Ridge of Sandy Ridge and within upper elevations of the High Knob Massif ( where snow depths were generally knee to waist deep, or greater ).
Most significantly, perhaps, the Christmas Holiday Storm of 2010 helped make December 2010 the snowiest December on record across the local mountains ( in at least 50 years ).
December 2010 Snowfall Totals
Clintwood 1 W: 36.2″ at 1560 feet
Nora 4 SSE: 46.3″ at 2650 feet on Long Ridge
High Chaparral of High Knob Massif: 55.0″ at 3300 feet
*Eagle Knob of High Knob Massif: 67.0″ at 4178 feet
*Approximate tally ( with greater and lesser amounts likely within the main crest zone of the massif between Bowman Mountain and Thunderstruck Knob of Powell Mountain ).
2011
BARE Christmas. Following two wintry Christmases the only signs of winter in the High Knob Massif on Christmas Day 2011 were icicles hanging off cliffs. Photographer Roddy Addington found only icicles hanging off cliffs in the High Knob Massif during a Christmas morning drive into the high country.
A stark contrast from the previous year when deep snow was poised to get much deeper. Still, despite the lack of snow, views were beautiful upon looking across the rugged mountains from atop the wind swept expanse of High Knob Meadow.
Christmas was barely over when one of the most energetic systems of the entire month developed into 26 December, with SE-S wind gusts of 40 to 60+ mph. Winds remained strong as cold air arrived on SW air flow trajectories, with gusts around 40 mph being observed in Wise, into afternoon of 27 December.
A transition from light rain to snow occurred in the High Knob Massif as temperatures tumbled below freezing. Upslope snowfall increased through the late evening hours into the overnight of 28 December, with conditions becoming blizzard-like at times on Eagle Knob in wind driven, swirling snow. Snow depths of 2-3″+ accumulated across the main crest zone of the massif, with 1-2″ at mid-elevations, by morning hours of 28 December 2011.
2012
Wet conditions arrived just in time for Christmas, with snow melting away from southern slopes and exposed crest lines of the High Knob Massif. Only colder, upper north slopes retained some snow into Christmas day.
Majesty Of Winter In The High Knob Massif
Shortly after the big day, amid ROARING winds, rain changed to wet snow and the crest zone was again transformed into a magical Winter Wonderland during 26-27 December in 2012.
The 25-27 December storm was a powerhouse with strong winds enhancing orographics to produce heavy rain that ended as upper elevation snow.
Superintendent Andrew Greear of the City of Norton Water Plant reported a storm precipitation total of 1.61″ and 2″ of snow depth at the Norton Reservoirs, into AM hours of 27 December (locally 2″ to 3″ of snow fell above the 3300 foot level of the lakes).
This boosted the 2012 precipitation tally to 66.66″ in the City of Norton.
2013
White Christmas Eve & Morning localized in the Virginia mountains.
Despite a lack of December snowfall, compared to climatology, enough fell to produce a White Christmas Eve Day and Christmas Morning period across higher elevations of Wise and Dickenson counties as well as the Burkes Garden area of Tazewell County & Mount Rogers-Whitetop of Washington-Grayson counties.
White Christmas EVE-Morning In Virginia Mountains
The heaviest snow in Virginia likely fell amid a well developed snowstreak from heads of Guest & Powell rivers southeast into the Wise Plateau, including the Hurricane-Dotson Creek communities.
Winter wonderland conditions were on display across highest elevations in the High Knob Massif which missed the snowstreak but still managed to accumulate upslope snow and rime.
It was a cold Christmas Holiday with temperatures dropping from 26 to 8 degrees in the City of Norton between the beginning of Christmas Eve day and Christmas Morning. MIN temperatures dropped deeply into single digits amid the High Knob Massif.
2014
Only highest elevations, mostly above 3300 feet, had just enough snow for a White Christmas in 2014. This included lofty peaks from the High Knob Massif and Snowshoe Mountain in eastern West Virginia to Mount Rogers-Whitetop, Roan, Beech, Mount Mitchell and Mount LeConte.
No location, including these peaks, reported more than 1 inch of snow depth into Christmas Morning of December 2014.
2015
The holiday period in 2015 was all about water, lots and lots of water, with 2.96″ of rain in the City of Norton and 5.29″ at Big Cherry Dam within the High Knob Massif during the 24-30 December period.
2016
Whitewater, not snow, was again the featured attraction during the Christmas Holiday period in 2016 with a general 2.50″ to 3.00″+ of precipitation during the 24-30 December period.
This Holiday period did end with 2″ to 4″ of snow during 29-30 December from Clintwood to Norton and the High Knob Massif.
2017
An idyllic White Christmas developed in 2017 within locations along and north of the High Knob Massif as snow began falling during Christmas Eve, turning heavy into the overnight hours of Christmas Morn.
Accumulations of 1″ to 3″ were common into Christmas morning, with snow depths of 2-6″+ at upper elevations within the High Knob Massif.
A cold period was observed prior to Christmas 2017, with single digits in colder sites prior to warming just before the holiday (snow coming just in the nick’ of time!).
2018
A significant but limited extent of snow cover gave a white Christmas to mid-upper elevations, generally above 2800 feet, following a December 21 winter storm.
A general 6″ to 10″+ accumulated above 3000 feet in the High Knob Massif during December 21-22, falling on drifts which had not yet completely melted away from a major December 9-10 winter storm.
A general 18-24″, with 4-8 foot drifts, were observed at upper elevations in the High Knob Massif during December 9-10, with widespread power outages across Scott County on the windward side of the massif during this event.
2019
A brown mountain landscape dominated the central and southern Appalachians during Christmas 2019.
Frosty cold morning conditions, featuring 20s within mountain valleys (mid-40s at the summit level of the High Knob Massif), gave way to afternoon temperatures in the 50s and 60s.
End of current Christmas History.
