The Coldest Christmas Day Cet Mean...

[Weather-history]

...was in 1796 with a daily CET mean of -10.8C

4F (-15.6C) was recorded at Somerset House and 5F (-15C) on the Strand

The last sub zero daily CET Christmas Day was 1995 with a mean of -0.2C

Christmas Day 1992 was a touch colder with -0.5C

Christmas 1981 had a daily CET mean of -0.6C

Christmas 1962 had a daily CET mean of -3.6C

Sub zero CET mean Christmas Days

1772: -4.0C

1779: -5.1C

1785: -0.3C

1794: -1.3C

1796: -10.8C

1798: -3.7C

1799: -0.5C

1808: -1.6C

1815: -0.8C

1817: -0.4C

1819: -0.8C

1820: -0.3C

1829: -0.9C

1830: -6.6C

1831: -0.7C

1835: -3.2C

1836: -0.9C

1840: -4.4C

1846: -1.9C

1853: -1.7C

1860: -0.8C

1870: -4.4C

1874: -0.5C

1878: -5.8C

1890: -1.4C

1891: -2.2C

1892: -2.4C

1904: -1.0C

1923: -1.1C

1925: -0.5C

1944: -1.8C

1961: -2.6C

1962: -3.6C

1964: -0.1C

1970: -0.1C

1981: -0.6C

1992: -0.5C

1995: -0.2C

[damianslaw]

The relatively cold christmas of 1992 often gets forgotten, unlike 1981 when many places had deep snow cover and 1995 which was accompanied by some snow more so in the north but the freezing temperatures, christmas 1992 was very very dry with freezing fog more a problem which helped maintain the low temperatures.

I remember it being a very frosty sunny christmas and nice to be out and about but without the snow or real cold temperatures it wasn't much special. 1993 was much better as we had some slight snow cover. 1996 was a cold dry christmas day but the real cold didn't set in until boxing day, much like 2000.

[Thundery wintry showers]

Thanks again Kevin for the stats- notable how there was a run of cold Christmasses in the Charles Dickens era and again in the 1960s.

Some charts from the more recent cold Christmasses:

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/1961/Rrea00119611225.gif

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/1962/Rrea00119621225.gif

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/1964/Rrea00119641225.gif

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/1970/Rrea00119701225.gif

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/1981/Rrea00119811225.gif

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/1992/Rrea00119921225.gif

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/1995/Rrea00119951225.gif

Christmas Day 1992 was the odd one out of this bunch with no cold upper air present and reliance on an inversion for cold.

You mentioned Christmas Day 1993, here it is:

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/1993/Rrea00119931225.gif

That one was pretty marginal with a CET of 1.3C. In Tyneside snow showers that afternoon gave an inch of snow cover as the wind veered north-easterly, making it a real white Christmas regardless of what definition you use.

[high ground birmingham]

Just out of interest, what was the CET mean for Christmas Day 2004??

hgb