Dick Faurot's Weather Blog: Merry Christmas! Warm And Windy Day

If you are wondering where a White Christmas is likely to be this year, notice the map which shows the snow on the ground as of early this morning. Since very little additional snow fell during the day today, those are most likely the locations that will experience a White Christmas tomorrow morning. For us, Christmas morning will start off clear and cold with temperatures at or below freezing followed by a rapid warm-up due to strong southerly winds through the day. Look for daytime highs to reach the mid-upper 50s and I would have gone warmer except for an increase in high level cirrus clouds during the day which should limit the warm-up to a certain extent.

The main issue will be the winds as those southerly winds will be gusting to 30 mph or more which together with the warmer than normal temperatures and a minimum relative humidity in the low 30% range will result in a high fire danger. In other words, not a good time to be roasting chestnuts over an open fire.

Gusty southerly winds will continue for much of the day Friday as well which will result in a much milder start to the day with morning temperatures in the 40s. Daytime highs will be in the mid-upper 50s again that afternoon, but overcast skies could also produce some light rain or a few showers. Our next cold front will be arriving that evening/night followed by gusty NW winds for Saturday and a return to colder conditions. However, it looks like we will stay above freezing all day with morning lows in the mid 30s and daytime highs only near 40. There will also be a lingering cold rain or a few showers but it should be all liquid that morning followed by some clearing later in the day.

Sunday is looking pretty good with at least some sunshine, morning lows in the 20s and daytime highs in the 40s with a lighter SE wind. Much the same for Monday although our winds will be returning to a more NE direction during the day which will be followed by even colder conditions for the rest of the week.

In fact, much of next week is starting to look more and more interesting. The longer range guidance has not been very consistent regarding how cold it will be nor our precipitation chances, but the latest and greatest certainly suggests at least the possibility of some wintry weather. Notice on the forecast page that temperatures will likely struggle to get above freezing starting Tuesday right on through New Year's Day. Along with the cold there are also indications of at least a chance of wintry precipitation but it will likely be several more forecast cycles before those details become more certain.

In the meantime, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Also, may I wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!

Dick Faurot