If your loathing this abnormal, May-like 60-70-degree warmth from Mississippi to East Coast, your about to get a taste of December normality, a rude awakening this weekend in the Northeast as daytime temps hold in the 30s, 40s with stiff NW winds sparking heavy lake-effect snows downwind of the boiling Great Lakes.

This weekend is a BRIEF taste of something a little more December-like with highs returning to nearer normal.

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HOWEVER, through Christmas week, that trough which swings in and just as quickly swings out into the Atlantic as a major trough returns to the West while a major ridge brings back a return of 20-30 above normal warmth.

This weekend

Saturday highs

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve morning!

Taking a look at the ECMWF ensemble and it looks like it holds the cold West, mild East pattern through at least Jan 1st with strong positive AO/NAO signal.

GFS ensemble 5-day mean 2m temperature anomalies show the stubbornness of the Eastern warmth while cold appears to get stronger later in December.

The snows continue to pile up, even in the Sierra. We may see snow pack get to normal before Christmas!

In tomorrow’s post I shall be taking a look at the current state of the polar stratosphere and see if there’s hope for Jan in terms of major cold outbreaks!! Stay tuned!

See this morning’s video for the discussion.

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