I hope you accept this personal note in lieu of a traditional holiday card. As an expert procrastinator, it would be Valentine's Day before you would get something in the regular mail anyway.
I truly hope your Christmas season was filled with joy, blessings, and good health. I know social media can be overwhelming to keep track of these days, so I wanted to share a few of my adventures from 2022 on a more personal note.
Huntsville, AL rooftop
You might've seen that I took a new job! It's a little more behind-the-scenes with a company called Baron Weather. We are the second-largest weather radar and data provider in the world. I'm very happy with the slower pace and private atmosphere, especially during hurricane season. I still get to create weather content & forecast, but it's more business to business. And I have absolutely fallen in love with Huntsville!
It was perfect timing to take on a less stressful role, as I was recently challenged with a rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis. I'm grateful to the doctors for catching it, especially before it spread any further. And I'm hoping to find a treatment plan that will work by spring so I can explore all the great hiking in the Appalachians!
And finally, the other big news from this year is I found a cute little kitten named Radar. He really enjoys tracking Stormy, and they have become best buds. They are my pride and joy, and hopefully will get to meet you someday!
Stormy & Radar
I pray (and BELIEVE) that the new year will bring new adventures, many blessings, and abundant happiness to you and your friends & family.
With love,
Jeff
On the 12th day before Christmas, when all throughout the Midwest
Forecasts were teasing snow, but some say it's still a guess.
Poetic cuteness aside, significant changes are coming to the weather pattern in the next two weeks that will have many snow lovers rejoicing. Others will just be bothered by the bitter cold. Nonetheless, chances of a white Christmas are more than twice as high (compared to normal) this year from the Upper Midwest to the Southern Plains.
Confidence is high in a colder-than-normal holiday period for much of the continental United States. Credible forecast models all project below-normal temperatures for the seven days surrounding December 25 in all locations east of the Rockies. However, they do differ in the extent and magnitude of extreme cold (compared to normal) during this period, which is also likely a factor of timing.
The three images below show 7-day average temperature anomalies from multiple runs of the GFS (American), ECMWF (European), and CFS (NOAA).
Temperatures are likely to be at least 10 to 15 degrees below normal from the Northern Plains to the Mid-South on or around Christmas Day. The numbers could be a lot colder than that in some areas, depending on snow cover and the track of multiple storm systems leading up to the holiday.
Here's an example long-range forecast for St. Louis from the GFS. The red box is drawn around a projected stretch of more than a week with subfreezing temperatures (day and night). According to this model, temperatures might even not top 20º for 72 hours straight!
Details on exactly how cold, and for how long, will become more apparent in the days to come. And those specifics will be significantly related to who gets snow or not.
Chances of at least one inch of snow on the ground (or falling) on Christmas Day are more than two times as high as the 30-year average across a large area of the nation's midsection. The interactive graphic below compares the historical probability (1981-2020) to my 2022 forecast.
Cities such as Oklahoma City, Little Rock, and Nashville that historically have less than a 1 in 10 chance of a white Christmas have elevated probabilities of 20 to 30 percent this year. Chances are also more than two times as high (compared to normal) across the Ozarks and lower Ohio River Valley.
The Arctic air that has been bottled up in western Canada since Thanksgiving is about to be unleashed by the powerful storm system moving across the nation this week. It will then be driven farther south by another storm system next week (Dec 19-23), with potentially a third cold front delivering the "knock out" blow of arctic air deep into Dixie.
At this time, significant differences and inconsistencies in model solutions preclude me from posting details on when, where, and how much snow or ice may fall during the week of Christmas. I will be posting numerous times on those details as they become available, including credible modeling and road condition data from my employer Baron Weather.
But for now, just know that this year's Christmas will likely be much colder than normal (and possibly white) from Montana to Mississippi. Temperature anomalies along the west and east coasts are less certain, but an active jet stream pattern is sure to deliver bouts of cold and snow in those areas as well in the coming weeks.
Snow will be sparse this Christmas east of the Rockies and south of I-90, and confidence is high that it will be unusually warm across the Southeast.
An onslaught of winter storms is likely to blanket much of the West with feet of snow over the next 12 days, especially in higher elevations. A white Christmas is also likely across the Northern Plains, Great Lakes, and inland areas of New England from one or two winter storms prior to the 25th.
Cities where snow on Christmas Day is not that uncommon, such as Denver, Des Moines, Chicago, Pittsburgh, New York and Boston, are unlikely to see the magical morning this year. And farther south, a pre-Christmas storm may bring the potential for heavy rain or thunderstorms from the Southern Plains to the Ohio Valley.
White Christmases have become less frequent across more than half of the nation, according to the new 1991-2020 climate normals.
There is some evidence climate change may be leading to warmer Decembers across the Southeast, making snow even more rare around the holiday. But the grinch to blame for this year's brown Christmas across the Midwest is an oscillating climate pattern known as La Niña. This cooling of the equatorial Pacific waters correlates with a wavier jet stream across North America that allows warmer air to surge north more frequently from the Gulf of Mexico.
Long range teleconnection data suggests a change in the pattern may allow colder air to penetrate deeper into the center and eastern parts of the nation by early January, but above normal temperatures (overall) are likely to continue in the Southeast for much of the winter.
Bad weather will not affect most travelers on the way to their Thanksgiving destination this year.
Relatively quiet weather is expected across most of the nation, with only a few potential road bumps. If you experience a delay, it will likely be brief or possibly caused by other factors such as heavy volume.
In the Midwest and Central Plains, strong winds in the middle and lower levels of the atmosphere may result in some bumpy ascents and descents at airports such as Kansas City, St. Louis or Chicago. Showers will also be developing later in the evening and overnight hours along the Interstate 35, 44, and 55 corridors from Texas to Illinois. For most of my readers, this the only potential nuisance prior to Thanksgiving Day.
The interactive map below shows forecast wind gusts from one particular model, and is only a representation of what may happen.
The coolest air yet of the fall season has taken over the Southeast, but aside from needing a jacket for those pit stops, all roadtrips will be a "go". There will be little in the way of weather-related airline delays as well at all major hubs up and down the East Coast.
The only potential significant trouble spot this year just before Thanksgiving is in the Pacific Northwest, where an approaching storm could bring significant rain and snow to Seattle and Portland. However, much of this activity is expected to arrive overnight or during the day Thursday, after most travelers reach their destination.
I'll have an update posted on weather for your trip home or Black Friday shopping posted real soon. So please check back!
