The New Year will finally bring some more seasonable weather to the region as temperatures dip in response to a building area of high pressure and west-northwest winds over the weekend. It will be an uneventful weekend otherwise, with generally dry conditions.
Rest of today – mostly cloudy to partly sunny with high temperatures around 50ºF. For New Year’s Eve celebrations tonight, temperatures will drop rather quickly into the low-40s by midnight.
Friday (New Years Day) – cool, though still above normal with high temperatures in the low-40s and sunny skies.
Saturday – cool and dry conditions prevail with high temperatures again in the low-40s. Overnight lows will be in the low-30s.
Sunday – basically a clone of Saturday, mostly sunny, highs in the low-40s.
After an absurdly warm start to the winter, we are about to get a dose of proper weather for this time of year. While temperatures this week and the first half of January will still above normal in many cases, they will be considerably cooler than December and be closer to normal than not. This week, we start with a messy and complex storm (the same that spawned deadly tornadoes in Texas and has brought blizzard conditions to New Mexico, and an ice storm to Oklahoma) that affects the area tonight into Tuesday with a mix of rain, sleet, freezing rain, and snow, depending on how far north you are. Yet another round rain and snow further north from the city is possible Wednesday.
Rest of today – seasonably cool with high temperatures only in the low-mid 40s. Increasing clouds ahead of a warm front that will be the focus for the precipitation later tonight. Things get interesting overnight as precipitation begins to spread over the area from southwest to northeast. Near the coast, surface temperatures are expected to remain warm enough (upper-30s) to largely preclude the possibility of significant wintry precipitation, however, sleet could mix in with rain to at the start of this storm before things shift over to all rain. Further west and north will be another story, with areas expecting anything between .25″ of ice to 2-4″ of snow/sleet accumulation before rain starts falling.
Tuesday – as temperatures warm with daybreak, wintry precipitation should transition entirely to rain. Rain is expected to last throughout most of the morning into the early afternoon hours. East winds ahead of the warm front mentioned above will be in the 15-20mph range before shifting to the north. High temperatures in the city are expected to hit the upper-40s to around 50ºF.
Wednesday – we’ll get another shot at rain as the cold front railing the warm front pictured above pushes through late on Wednesday into the overnight hours. Despite increasing clouds, forecasts still call for high temperatures in the low-50s.
Thursday – a lingering chance of rain remains on the backside of the cold front. High temperatures are expected to be about the same as Wednesday near 50.
Winter officially began yesterday night at 11:49PM, though you wouldn’t be able to tell given the incredibly warm weather we’re experiencing and will continue to experience right through Christmas Day. Forget snow – we’re talking thunderstorms possibly happening on Christmas Eve. Hope Santa’s sleigh is electrically insulated!
Rest of today – periods of rain, heavy at times, and cloudy with high temperatures in the low-60s. Timing of a second round of heavier rain seems to be in the 1-3PM window, after which things will calm down.
Wednesday – another impulse of energy will be arriving Wednesday and we’ll get another shot of rain along with it. The timing of the heaviest rain tomorrow appears to be later in the afternoon, around 4PM and the evening rush. High temperatures very similar to today in the low-60s.
Thursday (Christmas Eve) – a substantial surge of warm, humid air from the Gulf ahead of a cold front (and around the western edge of a high pressure center located in the Western Atlantic) will almost certainly lead to record high temperatures being crushed across the region. We are talking the possibility of seeing high temperatures topping 70ºF, which for perspective is close to 30ºF above average for this time of year. Because of the warmth and humidity, the atmosphere will be unstable enough to support isolated thunderstorms as a cold front pushes through, though coverage will be isolated at best.
Friday (Christmas) – after the cold front moves through Thursday, we’ll cool off a bit and dry out, but we’re still talking about temperatures easily in the low-60s which could lead to more records being broken. For those who love the milder temperatures, this is certainly a big gift.
We get a taste of cool weather this weekend, with high temperatures at or slightly below normal for Saturday and Sunday, before we rebound strongly into much above average and possibly record-breaking warmth once again by mid-week next week. Saturday in particular will be feel quite brisk, with a stiff wind from the west dropping wind chills into the 30s. There could even be a couple snow flurries north and west of the city!
Rest of today – mostly cloudy to partly sunny skies with high temperatures hovering in the mid-50s. Temperatures will fall rapidly to near freezing in the city overnight.
Saturday – the low pressure system that was responsible for the soaking rains Thursday will continue to intensify as it moves over the Canadian Maritimes Saturday. As a high pressure center builds to the south, a tightening pressure gradient will yield stiff winds in the 15-25mph range on Saturday. This, combined with a blast of cold air behind the cold front that passed yesterday, will result in high temperatures only in the low-40s, with wind chills making it feel like the 30s throughout the day. There could be enough instability in the atmosphere to spark a couple flurries over the interior!
Sunday – high pressure will remain in control Sunday, so expect sunny skies, and with the high pressure center closer to us, the pressure gradient will diminish. Winds should likewise calm down, and it will feel considerably less raw with high temperatures in the mid-40s.
Monday – temperatures will jump into the low-mid 50s as the high pressure above moves to our east and return flow of warmer air from the south and southwest begins to take hold.
White Christmas? Not a chance.
Looking ahead at the week of Christmas coming up – not only will there be no chance of a white Christmas on the Eastern Seaboard, we could be looking at record-breaking warmth again with high temperatures in the low-mid 60s! The Climate Prediction Center’s 6-10 Day Temperature Outlook and 8-14 Day Temperature Outlook are both strongly confident (> 90% probability) that we will see warmer than average temperatures.
Temperatures remain very warm to start the week, following a weekend of recording-breaking warm weather this past weekend. However, a true cooldown into temperatures within normal ranges for this time of year (high temperatures in the mid-40s) won’t occur until late this week. When that cool down comes around, we could even be looking at a few snow flurries!
Rest of today – widespread fog has taken hold across the region. Fog is expected to lift by around noon, however, generally cloudy conditions are likely to persist through the afternoon. Warm again with high temperatures in the low-mid 60s – higher if clouds break in any areas inland. Later this evening, we get our best shot at a round of showers and even a couple embedded thunderstorms as a cold front pushes through. Timing for this precipitation looks to be around 8PM this evening.
Tuesday – behind the cold front, skies will clear, giving us a much brighter, but also windier day Tuesday. Still, temperatures remain warm, with highs again approaching the low-mid 60s.
Wednesday – cooler temperatures finally kick in with high temperatures dropping into the mid-50s under mostly sunny skies.
Thursday – a secondary surface low will form over the Southeast, associated with a stronger low pressure that will be over the Hudson Bay area. This low brings us our next chance at precipitation, and will yield a mostly cloudy day, with increasing chances for rain in the afternoon as the day progresses.
The weekend coming up will see some unusually warm weather coming our way. In fact, high temperatures on Sunday may well approach record-breaking territory at 60ºF or even higher. This near-record warm trend won’t last through next week, so definitely take advantage of this weekend for some outdoor activities.
Rest of today – partly sunny with highs in the upper 50s.
Friday – with a warm front passing through overnight, areas of fog may develop early Friday morning. Once the fog clears, we should see mostly sunny skies, and high temperatures will again be in the upper-50s to near 60ºF.
Saturday – temperatures continue to warm into the low-60s on Saturday with partly sunny skies. High pressure firmly entrenched over the Southeast will be the primary driver allowing a surge of warm air to enter our region.
Sunday – we could see record-breaking warmth across the region Sunday, with this high pressure still in control and a cold front approaching from the west, increasing the flow of warm air into the area. High temperatures should easily break 60ºF. If cloud cover is less than currently expected, records are likely to be broken.
Monday – the aforementioned cold front makes its approach across the region, bringing us a good chance at some meaningful rain. High temperatures preceding the cold front’s passage are still expected to be quite warm, near 60ºF.
Short-term Temperature Outlook & El Niño’s Impact
Although temperatures will cool somewhat after the cold front passes on Monday, they will nonetheless remain a good deal above average. Seasonal average high temperatures for this time in December are in the low-40s! Climate Prediction Center’s 6-10 temperature outlook has our region at a near certain probability of seeing above average temperatures.
This coheres well with generally understood impacts of an El Niño winter in North America.
A rather uneventful beginning to the work week in terms of weather will be followed by a gradual warmup towards the end of the week. Temperatures the past couple of months have been very much above normal, and in some cases approaching the warmest months on record – this trend looks set to continue at least through to early next week and possibly longer.
Rest of today – surprisingly, there is an Air Quality Alert in effect this afternoon through midnight. Some lingering haze has been a smudge on what will otherwise be a sunny day with high temperatures in the mid-50s.
Tuesday – more clouds than sun to start the day, but then clouds diminish as an offshore low exits to our east. This offshore low is not expected to bring any precipitation to the area since it will be passing too far to the south of us. Temperatures will actually be a little cooler than today – in the mid-upper 40s – since winds circulating counterclockwise around this low will be coming from the north.
Wednesday – as the low above exits, a high pressure center will begin to take hold. Return flow from the south around the western edge of this high pressure and a passing warm front will again bring in milder air. High temperatures are expected to be similar to today in the mid-50s, with mostly sunny skies.
Thursday – the warmup continues with temperatures expected to be a couple degrees warmer than on Wednesday, and with ample sunshine.
A quite and mild weekend is in store for the region with high pressure in control of the weather throughout the period. Temperatures should climb steadily as winds shift and persist from the southwest. We could see high temperatures near 60ºF by Sunday.
Rest of today – clear to mostly sunny, with highs around 50.
Saturday – sunny, with high temperatures in the low-50s.
Sunday – milder, and sunny again with high temperatures in the upper-50s to near 60ºF.
Monday – clouds look to be increasing on Monday with a storm system approaching from the south expected to pass on Tuesday. Temperatures will be cooler in the mid-50s.
Seasonal Climate Outlooks
As we are entering into the winter, it’s worth looking ahead at what the seasonal climate out looks are from the Climate Prediction Center.
Drought conditions are expected to improve over many areas of the nation, and the persistent moderate drought in our region is forecast to end.
Temperature and precipitation are forecast to be above normal for the region. As you’ll note from the images below, some fairly significant deviations from normal are expected across large portions of the United States, due in large part to the effects of a strong El Niño that’s been gripping the Eastern and Central Pacific for months now.
The chart below shows you the sea surface temperature anomalies for the Pacific – notice that a large swathe of the equatorial Pacific from about the international date line east is experiencing extremely warm temperatures for this time of year – a full 5ºC above normal in large areas. This is why climate forecasters can be more confident than usual in their outlooks for temperature and precipitation this season.
