White Christmas Chances Dwindle in the Southeast

BROWN CHRISTMAS EXPECTED

If you are like me, a White Christmas would certainly be cool, however the odds are stacked against us here in the Southeast regardless of the year. However, this year, those odds look to be even lower than average. Why? A huge ridge of high pressure will slowly sink in across the Central US and will keep any winter storms from heading our way. If any storm does head our way, it will likely be in the form of rain. Above average temperatures are expected for much of the continental US. The only places that will escape the mild conditions will be in the Northeast and of course Florida is used to warm temperatures overall.

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center has much of the US in above average chances for above normal temperatures from the 20th into Christmas Eve (the 24th). This would suppress any chances of a white Christmas, since a White Christmas is defined as either currently snowing or snow on the ground. Both look highly unlikely for the Southeast at this point. The silver lining is that the weather at the beach should be nice and warm if you live there, or decide to go. The cold shall not impede your beach plans this Christmas in the Southeast. While you may not go swimming, it will be decent for a walk along the beach. In fact, there will be a nice stretch of days where you can go for walks outdoors anywhere in the Southeast, without bundling up.

Below is the output from the Hi-resolution Euro model from pivotalweather.com. Notice the surge of warm temperatures from the south during the day on Christmas Eve. This is why we believe that Christmas will be a warm one this year across the south. It’s hard to have snow when temperatures are in the 50s and 60s.

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-CWA

Author: Michael Griffith

I have had a passion for the weather since a very young age and am a degreed meteorologist. I have a Bachelor of Science from Penn State University and a Master's from Plymouth State University. If you ever see me out and about in the Charlotte, NC area, be sure to say hi!