...1776... A "northeaster" brought large amounts of snow and sleet to the east central section of the country. Virginia received 24 inches of snow. This weather continued into the night, leaving lousy weather for George Washington and his troops to march on Trenton but causing the British to be surprised and easily overtaken.

...1909... 3.6 inches of snow fell at Newport, Rhode Island, breaking the record of 1.8 inches from 1902.

...1914... The biggest snowstorm in December for Oklahoma city, Oklahoma came to an end. 9 inches of snow was recorded.

...1949... The high barometer record was set on this day in Newport, Rhode Island with a reading of 30.97 inches.

...1966... A white Christmas was enjoyed by residents from North Carolina to New England in the wake of a major snowstorm. Even coastal Virginia was white.

...1978... The low barometer fell to 28.74 inches at Newport, Rhode Island, breaking the record of 29.07 from 1966.

...1980... It was the coldest Christmas Day of modern record in the northeastern U.S. Temperatures as cold as 36 degrees below zero were reported in New York State, and as the sharp cold front swept southeastward the temperature at Boston MA plunged from 34 degrees to seven degrees below zero during the day.  Newport, Rhode Island recorded a low of 4 degrees below zero, breaking the record of 6 degrees, set in 1975 and the wind chill got down to 11 degrees below zero, breaking that record of 14 degrees below zero from 1968.

...1983... It was the coldest Christmas Day of modern record for the central and eastern U.S. More than 125 cities reported record low temperatures for the date, and thirty-four of those cities reported all-time records for the month of December. The temperature plunged to one degree below zero at Huntsville AL, and dipped to 14 degrees at Galveston TX. Snow covered the ground from the Pacific Northwest through much of the Great Plains Region to the Northern Appalachians.

...1987... Residents of Tucson AZ awoke to a white Christmas for the first time in forty-seven years of records, as a winter storm blanketed the area with up to four inches of snow. While heavy rain inundated Arkansas, freezing rain was reported from northwest Texas to southwestern Missouri, with an inch of ice reported at Harrison AR. Unseasonably mild weather prevailed in the southeastern U.S. Seven cities reported record high temperatures for the date. For the second day in a row McAllen TX was the hot spot in the nation with an afternoon high of 91 degrees.

...1988... A massive winter storm made for a very white Christmas in the western U.S. Las Vegas NV reported snow on the ground for the first time of record. Periods of snow over a five day period left several feet of new snow on the ground of ski areas in Colorado, with 68 inches reported at Wolf Creek Pass.

...1989... For the first time in the history of weather records at Tallahassee, Florida, a trace of snow fell at the airport on Christmas Day. -Erie, Pennsylvania set an all-time record during December for snowfall. 60.3 inches had fallen so far for the month. -Wilmington, North Carolina dropped to zero degrees for its coldest temperature on record.

...2001... Buffalo, New York was buried under 25.2 inches of snow in 24 the city's third greatest 24 hour snowfall on record. This record was exceeded only two days later!

...2002... A rapidly deepening coastal storm dumped heavy snows over the interior Northeast. Some snowfall total included 39 inches at Cherry Valley, New York, 34 inches at Cedarville, New York, 27 inches at Woodstock, Vermont, 22 inches at Westbrook, Maine, 21 inches at Albany, New York, and Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, and 18 inches at Middlefield, Massachusetts,

...2003... Heavy rains affected areas of southern California that were just recently ravaged by wildfires in October. The downpour produced flash flooding that resulted in mudslides, taking the lives of 15 people at area campgrounds in San Bernardino

...2004... A historic snowfall occurred over South Texas starting on Christmas Eve and ending during the morning on Christmas Day. Some snowfall amounts included 13 inches at Brazoria, 12.5 inches at Victoria, 12 inches at Goliad, 10 inches at Beeville, 8 inches at Port Lavaca, and 4 inches at Galveston. Corpus Christi recorded 4.4 inches of snow for it greatest single storm snowfall ever. Brownsville had 1.5 inches to set a record for its greatest December snowfall and first measurable snowfall since 1895.

...2006... Severe thunderstorms produced four tornadoes in Florida. Columbia, Pasco, Lake and Volusia counties were hardest-hit, including the Daytona Beach area. A tornado generated considerable damage on the campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, delaying the start of the spring semester

...2010... Up to 32 inches of snow and blizzard conditions affected parts of the eastern U.S. on December 25th & 27th. A state of emergency was declared in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Maine. In New York City, up to 24.5 inches of snow fell, effectively shutting down rail lines, major airports, and bus services. Thousands of flights were cancelled and stranded subway riders were forced to spend a night in unheated train cars. One person was reported killed in Maine due to the weather conditions.