“I am dreaming of a green Christmas.” “Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain.”

Nobody in Iowa sings those songs this time of year. And for good reason. Christmas is supposed to have snow. At least that’s what I remember. But does my memory serve me correctly?

Weather.gov shared some interesting Christmas weather facts for Des Moines that set the record straight.

Let’s start with the number of Christmas Days that actually had snow. Out of the 133 years with measurable snowfall in Des Moines since 1884, only 26 had snowfall on Christmas Day. That’s not even 20%. Granted, I spent the first 21 years of my life north of Highway 20 where snow falls more, but still. Twenty percent. That’s it.

The same data shows 58 Christmas Days out of 133 years had “a trace” of snow or more fall in Des Moines since 1884, which is 44%. That’s better, but hardly a winter wonderland.

There have been 56 Christmas Days out of 124 years that have had an inch or more
of snow depth on the ground in Des Moines since 1893. That’s 45%.

Slice and dice those numbers any way you want, but not even half of our Christmas Days in Des Moines have had any real snow. Frosty would frown.

Some years, we did have snowfall on Christmas, though. Lots of it, in fact. The snowiest Christmas Day in Des Moines since 1884 was in 1909 with 4.1 inches dropping. Other years with an inch or more, in snowfall order, were 1895, 2009, 1899, 1886, 1957, 1962, 1941 and 1884.

How about the deepest snow cover? Des Moines had 17 inches on the ground in 1961. Yikes. The year 1909 had 13 inches. In more recent years, 2000 saw 9 inches, 2009 had 8 inches, 2008 had 7 inches, and 2010 had 6 inches, as did 2012.

And 2023? Zero. Zip. Zilch. A green Christmas, soaked with rain. I could smell those wet, muddy reindeer from blocks away. But I still set some reindeer food out for them and a few cookies for Santa. I hope you did, too.

Happy holidays, and thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com

See Shane Goodman's previous columns here.

Tindle garage is the place to be
Elaborate décor features car parts, motorcycle and repurposed items.

By Rich Wicks

Justin Tindle of Winterset has a really cool garage. Seriously cool. And getting bigger.
Tindle has years of experience working on cars and taking them apart.

“On my original garage remodel, I chopped a 1957 Buick Super Sedan that I purchased from Hartman Auction this year. Now, the front and back of the car hang on the main feature wall,” he says. “Both garages are wired so all my cars, motorcycle, street lights and gas station lights turn on together with a light switch.”

The building was the old Starlight Café, Tindle says.

Read more in the December Winterset Living magazine.

Happy Birthday Jason Wiegert!

These celebrities were born on this date: Drummer Lars Ulrich, Actor Jared Leto, Actor Beth Behrs, Actor Kit Harington, Actress Eden Sher, TV Host John Walsh, Humorist David Sedaris, Singer Chris Daughtry, Rapper Prodigy

SUBMIT: Send your birthday greetings and congratulatory notes to: tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

The answer to yesterday's riddle:

Where do double agents shop for groceries? TRAITOR JOE'S! - Carolyn Rogers. SPY-VEE or DOUBLE O SEVEN ELEVEN! - Kris Hoover.

Today's riddle

What do you call the owner who won't sell her tavern?

Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

To advertise in this daily newsletter, contact Jolene Goodman at jolene@iowalivingmagazines.com, or call 515-953-4822 ext. 319.

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