How often there is snow on Christmas morning in the Alps
The Christmas Snow Report 2026 · By Chalet for Christmas · Published
We looked at how much snow was on the ground on the morning of 25 December at 71 weather stations in and above 52 Alpine ski resorts, each year from 1996 to 2025: 1,927 measurements by national and regional weather services, none of them modelled.
What the measurements show
- Davos had at least 30cm of snow on the ground on 30 of 30 Christmas mornings at its slopes station (Weissfluhjoch, 2,536m). 5 resorts reached 30cm on each Christmas measured: Davos, Klosters, Zermatt, Avoriaz, St Anton am Arlberg.
- The worst Christmas for snow since 1996 was 2015: 16 of 25 slopes stations had less than 30cm, and the typical depth was 20cm.
- On the slopes, good Christmases have held up. Across the 18 slopes stations measured in both periods, 90% of Christmases from 1996–2010 had at least 30cm, against 85% from 2011 onwards.
- In low villages (below 1,400m) the change is larger. A white Christmas, with at least 5cm lying in the village, came on 79% of Christmases from 1996–2010 and 57% from 2011 onwards, across 17 village stations. Where to find a white Christmas in the Alps has each village.
Resorts ranked by Christmas snow
Christmas mornings with at least 30cm of snow on the ground since 1996, at the resort's slopes station where it has one and its village station where it does not.
| Resort | Station | Christmases with 30cm+ | Typical depth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davos (Switzerland) | Weissfluhjoch, 2,536m | 30 of 30 | 112cm |
| Klosters (Switzerland) | Gatschiefer, 2,299m | 30 of 30 | 109cm |
| Zermatt (Switzerland) | Gornergratsee, 2,953m | 30 of 30 | 88cm |
| Avoriaz (France) | Avoriaz, 1,768m (village) | 25 of 25 | 85cm |
| St Anton am Arlberg (Austria) | Galzig, 2,079m | 22 of 22 | 109cm |
| Saas-Fee (Switzerland) | Egginer, 2,645m | 29 of 30 | 102cm |
| Verbier (Switzerland) | Ruinettes, 2,200m | 29 of 30 | 70cm |
| Wengen (Switzerland) | Itramen, 2,162m | 29 of 30 | 68cm |
| Tignes (France) | Le Chevril (Tignes), 2,559m | 28 of 30 | 85cm |
| St Moritz (Switzerland) | Valetta, 2,512m | 27 of 29 | 62cm |
| Val Thorens (France) | Val Thorens, 2,283m (village) | 13 of 14 | 50cm |
| Madonna di Campiglio (Italy) | Groste', 2,265m | 11 of 12 | 62cm |
| Alpe d'Huez (France) | Alpe d'Huez 2350, 2,340m | 19 of 21 | 62cm |
| Les Deux Alpes (France) | Les Deux Alpes, La Toura, 2,550m | 24 of 27 | 98cm |
| La Plagne (France) | La Plagne, 1,980m | 26 of 30 | 55cm |
| Ischgl (Austria) | Ischgl-Idalpe, 2,323m | 11 of 13 | 76cm |
| Courchevel (France) | Courchevel, 1,780m | 25 of 30 | 48cm |
| Méribel (France) | Courchevel, 1,780m | 25 of 30 | 48cm |
| Cortina d'Ampezzo (Italy) | Ra Valles (Tofane), 2,615m | 20 of 24 | 56cm |
| Les Arcs (France) | Les Arcs, 2,040m | 24 of 29 | 65cm |
| Obertauern (Austria) | Obertauern, 1,772m (village) | 19 of 23 | 74cm |
| Chamonix (France) | La Flégère, 1,850m | 14 of 17 | 90cm |
| Serre Chevalier (France) | Serre Chevalier, Chantemerle, 1,905m | 20 of 25 | 51cm |
| Les Carroz (France) | Les Carroz, Kedeusaz, 1,760m | 23 of 30 | 67cm |
| Samoëns (France) | Les Carroz, Kedeusaz, 1,760m | 23 of 30 | 67cm |
| Grindelwald (Switzerland) | Grindel, 1,950m | 23 of 30 | 65cm |
| Obergurgl (Austria) | Obergurgl, 1,941m (village) | 23 of 30 | 45cm |
| Val d'Isère (France) | Le Molard (Val d'Isère), 2,310m | 13 of 17 | 78cm |
| Les Gets (France) | Les Gets, 1,530m | 16 of 21 | 50cm |
| Morzine (France) | Les Gets, 1,530m | 16 of 21 | 50cm |
| Corvara and Colfosco (Italy) | Abtei/Badia - Piz La Ila, 2,050m | 9 of 12 | 47cm |
| La Villa (Italy) | Abtei/Badia - Piz La Ila, 2,050m | 9 of 12 | 47cm |
| San Cassiano (Italy) | Abtei/Badia - Piz La Ila, 2,050m | 9 of 12 | 47cm |
| La Rosière (France) | La Rosière, 1,867m (village) | 22 of 30 | 52cm |
| Kitzbühel (Austria) | Hahnenkamm-Ehrenbachhöhe, 1,794m | 13 of 19 | 51cm |
| Lech (Austria) | Warth, 1,475m (village) | 20 of 30 | 50cm |
| Mayrhofen (Austria) | Gschößwand, 1,790m | 18 of 27 | 40cm |
| Valloire (France) | Valloire, 2,295m | 12 of 18 | 57cm |
| Val Gardena (Italy) | Seiser Alm/Alpe di Siusi - Zallinger, 2,055m | 8 of 12 | 44cm |
| Flaine (France) | Flaine, 1,620m (village) | 19 of 30 | 45cm |
| Montgenèvre (France) | Montgenèvre, 1,848m (village) | 12 of 19 | 52cm |
| Cervinia (Italy) | Valtournenche - Perreres, 1,820m (village) | 12 of 20 | 35cm |
| Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise (France) | Ste Foy Station, 1,524m (village) | 11 of 21 | 30cm |
| Livigno (Italy) | Livigno S Rocco (manual snow field), 1,875m (village) | 10 of 20 | 32cm |
| Crans-Montana (Switzerland) | Montana, 1,590m (village) | 14 of 30 | 28cm |
| Les Menuires (France) | Les Menuires, 1,800m (village) | 13 of 29 | 27cm |
| Megève (France) | Megève, 1,080m (village) | 12 of 30 | 16cm |
| Châtel (France) | Châtel, 1,155m (village) | 10 of 26 | 22cm |
| La Clusaz (France) | La Clusaz, 1,180m (village) | 10 of 28 | 20cm |
| Saalbach Hinterglemm (Austria) | Saalbach, 975m (village) | 9 of 29 | 20cm |
| Sölden (Austria) | Sölden, 1,332m (village) | 4 of 27 | 7cm |
| Zell am See (Austria) | Zell am See, 754m (village) | 1 of 28 | 8cm |
The worst Christmases for snow since 1996
Years ranked by the share of slopes stations with less than 30cm on Christmas morning.
| Christmas | Slopes stations under 30cm | Typical depth |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 16 of 25 | 20cm |
| 2016 | 16 of 27 | 27cm |
| 2014 | 13 of 26 | 34cm |
| 2006 | 9 of 22 | 38cm |
| 2025 | 5 of 22 | 52cm |
How the report is made
Each resort is matched to up to two weather stations: one at village height (within 6km and 300m of the village) and one higher up in the ski area (at least 300m above the village and within 8km). A resort with no station that fits has no record here, rather than one borrowed from another valley.
The figure is total snow depth on the ground on the morning of 25 December, read by each service at its usual morning observation. Stations are flat measuring plots with natural snow, so the numbers describe snow cover, not the depth of a groomed piste, which snowmaking can add to. A Christmas with no reading is left out rather than counted as zero. Readings a provider flags as doubtful are excluded.
A resort needs ten or more measured Christmases to be ranked. The comparison between periods uses only stations with at least eight readings in each, so a station that opened recently cannot move it.
Sources
- Météo-France, Données climatologiques de base quotidiennes (Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0)
- MeteoSwiss, Open government data, manual snow depth (CC BY 4.0)
- WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Measurement data portal (CC BY 4.0)
- GeoSphere Austria, klima-v2-1d daily station data, manual snow depth (CC BY 4.0)
- Provincia autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige, meteo stations, and observer series via Matiu et al. (2021), doi:10.5281/zenodo.5109574 (CC0 1.0)
- Meteotrentino, manual snow-field readings (CC BY 4.0)
- Centro Funzionale, Regione Valle d'Aosta, via Matiu et al. (2021), doi:10.5281/zenodo.5109574 (CC BY 4.0)
- eHYD, Hydrographic Service of Austria, daily manual snow depth (CC BY 4.0)
- ARPA Lombardia, via Matiu et al. (2021), doi:10.5281/zenodo.5109574 (CC BY 4.0)
- ARPAV (Veneto), annual snow reports, daily mean (CC BY 4.0)
Download and reuse
All the readings behind this page are in the Christmas Snow Report data (CSV), one row per resort, station and year. Reuse it freely, crediting the weather service named on each row and Chalet for Christmas. Suggested citation: “Chalet for Christmas, Christmas Snow Report 2026, from national and regional weather service station data, https://chaletforchristmas.com/christmas-snow-report/”.
These records feed the Christmas Snow Score on each resort page. They describe how often there has been snow at Christmas, not what will happen this year; nobody can promise snow on a given week.