Can You Expect White Christmas? Here's Weather Outlook For Jesus' Birthday

dailycaller.com

When it comes to Christmas, there’s three things that instantly come to mind: 1. Jesus Christ, 2. Santa Claus and 3. Snow.

With that last one, it has the potential to create not just beauty on Christmas, but travel hazards. And if you’re one of the people traveling over the holidays, weather knowledge is crucial. (RELATED: South Dakota, Wyoming See Evacuations Due To Wildfires Erupting From Hurricane-Force Winds)

With the biggest holiday of the year around the corner, here’s a region-by-region breakdown of what conditions you can expect, per the FOX Forecast Center.

SOUTHWEST

The Southwest is expected to stay wet and active.

A storm system is forecast to bring precipitation southward along the coastline, affecting Central and Southern California through Christmas Eve and into Christmas Day, which could substantially disrupt holiday driving on the Interstate 5 route.

Latest projections indicate 3 to 5 inches of accumulation in the greater Los Angeles region. Should the area see more than 3.82 inches over that period, it would establish a new record for the highest rainfall total across a Christmas Eve and Christmas Day span.

Multiple waves of precipitation are anticipated to push into areas of California and the Intermountain West region. This pattern may heighten the chances of flooding while delivering snowfall to the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains well into the week surrounding Christmas.

NORTHWEST

Although the outlook for the Northwest appears relatively mild, this is in comparison to the intense weather the area has faced recently. Some scattered showers are likely, which aligns with typical conditions for the season, but widespread heavy precipitation is not anticipated.

Scattered rain showers may occur in cities such as Seattle and Portland through Christmas Day, accompanied by light snowfall in the nearby mountains. Given the relatively light nature of the precipitation, any disruptions to travel are expected to be limited.

SOUTHEAST

A huge area of high pressure is anticipated to settle over the central region of the contiguous United States, allowing most of the Southeast to experience calm conditions with no major weather events forecast through Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Currently, the weather outlook for the region is described as mild and uneventful, featuring nighttime lows in the 50s to 60s continuing through Christmas Eve. Christmas Day is expected to have partly cloudy skies and pleasantly warm highs climbing into the 70s, potentially tying or breaking a few daily record highs.

NORTHEAST

One area where the weather outlook for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day remains somewhat uncertain is the Northeast, including parts of the Great Lakes region.

Currently, there’s a chance that a weather disturbance may track along the upper boundary of the high-pressure dome centered over the middle of the country, potentially reaching the Great Lakes and Northeast around Christmas Day or shortly afterward, per the FOX Forecast Center.

Details of the projection are still uncertain, but the disturbance might deliver a combination of rain and snow to those areas, keeping the prospect of a snowy Christmas alive.

MIDWEST

In general, the Midwest is shaping up for pleasant weather as Christmas Day approaches, particularly when contrasted with the challenging conditions of recent weeks. Although isolated snow or rain showers could occur, the overall environment is expected to stay mostly calm, making travel to visit loved ones relatively straightforward.

Temperatures are projected to remain mildly warmer than typical seasonal norms, featuring lows in the 20s throughout the Dakotas and Minnesota. Highs for Christmas Day should reach the 30s and 40s through the Plains and Midwest regions, running roughly 5 to 15 degrees higher than the usual averages for late December.

SOUTHERN PLAINS

The Southern Plains are expected to stay beneath a huge high-pressure ridge throughout Christmas Day. Although that might raise some concerns at first, it’s precisely the reason the weather outlook for the area is being described as pleasant and favorable.

The high-pressure system promotes descending air, which suppresses precipitation chances throughout the area. Temperatures are forecast to stay unusually mild, ranging 10 to 20 degrees warmer than seasonal norms. During Christmas Day, highs may climb into the 70s and lower 80s from Oklahoma City down to Houston. (RELATED: Two Children Critically Injured By Falling Tree While Waiting For Bus During Powerful Winds In Idaho)

Record-breaking highs are probable during the early part of Christmas week in this region and could continue through Christmas Day itself, affecting key cities like Kansas City and Oklahoma City. This setup might result in some of the highest Christmas Day temperatures on record for more than 25 locations.