“Will it be a white Christmas in Dollar, this year?”
Our Geography Department installed a digital weather station on the roof of the Playfair Building on our campus in 2016 – and ever since then, it has been recording weather data every 30 minutes.
This gives a valuable local data source for pupils to make use of in their classroom learning, and also for use in projects and assignments. Visiting the weather station itself allows pupils to assess the benefits and limitations of this picturesque location.
So what about the important question, will it be a white Christmas in Dollar, this year?
Unfortunately, our weather station does not make predictions, but perhaps looking at the Christmas Day weather data from the past 9 years might give an indication about how likely this will be.
Temperature
This figure (left) shows the average temperature on 25 December, over the last nine years. You can see that it has never dropped below 0 degrees Celsius. The coldest year was 2020, when we recorded a chilly 1.6 degrees, but in 2024, it was an incredibly mild 10.8 degrees.
It does not need to be freezing for it to snow, especially as the heat from the building influences the temperature recorded, so the average across this period of 5.03 degrees is cold enough to potentially give us some snow!
Precipitation
Of course, for it to snow, there needs to be some precipitation.
The following figure (right) shows that the wettest Christmas Days were in 2017 and 2023, with about 16mm of precipitation on each. Only two years were completely dry, 2021 and 2024 – so with precipitation more likely than not, this does give some hope for snow on Christmas Day.
Air Pressure
Air pressure is one of the most important factors influencing the chance of precipitation.
This figure (left) shows the relationship between air pressure and precipitation, and there appears to be a very clear negative correlation. As air pressure increases, the likelihood of precipitation decreases. It would be expected in the winter to have colder temperatures with higher pressure, but this is not apparent in our weather station data.
Temperature is also influenced by wind direction, with our coldest winds coming from the north or northeast. This has only happened on three occasions; 2019, 2022 and 2023, with our usual wind direction from the southwest bringing milder temperatures.
So for the best chance of snow this Christmas, start hoping for northerly winds, giving colder temperatures and low air pressure a greater chance of precipitation.
Whatever the weather, have a lovely Christmas and take comfort in the knowledge that it will all be recorded on the Dollar Academy Geography Department digital weather station.
Dollar Academy Geography Department
