White Christmas for parts of the East, more snow arrives in the Northwest

A powerful storm moving across the Eastern U.S. is bringing quite the variety of weather on Christmas Day including snow and a significant blast of cold air for the Central/Western Appalachians and Eastern Great Lakes, while New England will be in the warm sector of the system with mild temperatures and heavy rain plus significant snowmelt. 

Ski areas in Western New York & Pennsylvania, Northeast Ohio, West Virginia, and Western North Carolina will all enjoy several inches or more of fresh snow for Christmas with additional snow showers lingering through the day. A storm will also reach the West Coast on Christmas Day with snow returning to the Cascades and British Columbia Coast Range. 

Here is the outlook for 2 pm EST (11 am PST) on Christmas Day with snow denoted in blue and rain denoted in green.

Forecast for Fri, Dec 25 – Sun, Dec 27

Lingering snow and rain in the east will taper off on Friday night, while the next storm will impact the West with moderate to heavy snow on Saturday and into early Sunday. The Cascades, BC Coast Range, Northern Sierras, and Northern Rockies will be the most favored with this storm. Up north, Alaska will also see a couple of rounds of heavy snow through the weekend.

Forecast for Mon, Dec 28 – Tue, Dec 29

The next storm out west will favor the Southwest and Southern Rockies on Monday and into early Tuesday. Another storm will be possible in the Northwest on Tuesday as well, but confidence is low as not all models are showing this storm. A storm will also impact the Northeast on Monday and Tuesday with a mix of rain and snow expected.

Forecast for Wed, Dec 30

The early week storm that will bring snow to the Southwest will swing to the northeast and impact the Upper Midwest on Wednesday with moderate to heavy snow possible for ski areas in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and perhaps the UP of Michigan. The Northwest could pick up additional snow on Wednesday as well, but snow levels are projected to rise which could result in rain issues for some areas. 

Outlook for Thu, Dec 31 – Mon, Jan 4

An active pattern is expected across the West heading into the New Year with multiple storms likely, favoring the Pacific Northwest and Northern/Central Rockies the most. The East could also see a storm around the start of the New Year.

Thanks so much for reading and Happy Holidays! Check back for my next post on Monday, December 28th.

ALAN SMITH

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