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When Bing Crosby first crooned about his dreams of a white Christmas, the year was 1941.
For folks in Old Pueblo, the odds of a snowy late-December holiday are neither great nor nil.
Since 1895, Tucson has experienced the phenomenon four times. In 1916, a whopping four inches blanketed Optics Valley for the largest; most recently, 2.6” of flakes fell in 1987.
A half inch in 1911 and a trace in 1974 round out the historical stats, leaving the overall chance of snow on Christmas in Tucson at a paltry 3%; atop Mount Baldy (elevation 11,420 feet), the likelihood rises to 60%.
– Hannah Van Sickle, The Arizona 100