North America | A rare white Christmas in several regions

New York City is getting a white Christmas for the first time in 15 years this year. Several Canadian cities were also covered in a rare covering of festive snow on Wednesday.

This is the first white Christmas since 2009 for New Yorkers, with an inch of snow (2.54 centimeters) measured in Central Park. Snow fell Tuesday morning, before temperatures warmed slightly on Wednesday.

Quebec was also treated to a white Christmas, with layers of snow of up to 20 centimeters in certain regions. A better result than the previous year: only three cities were entitled to snow-covered landscapes in 2023, namely Val-d'Or, Sept-Îles and Quebec.

For a Christmas to be considered white, the ground must be covered with at least 2 centimeters of snow, according to MétéoMédia.

Several cities in Ontario were also pampered. Toronto notably experienced its first snowy Christmas in 4 years, with 5 to 10 centimeters of snow expected across the region from the start of the week, according to Environment Canada.

Nova Scotia was also partially covered in a rare layer of snow on the night of December 24-25. A rarity, in this province where the last white Christmas dates back to 2019.

However, white Christmases are becoming increasingly rare in Quebec.

No fewer than 11 Christmases have taken place without snow in Montreal over the past 34 years, or nearly one in three. However, only 7 Christmases were green in the previous 33 years, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

A downward trend is also observed in several Canadian regions, including the cities of Toronto, St. John's, Ottawa and Quebec.

With MétéoMédia, CBS and The Chronicle Herald