WEATHER
Colder air is moving in from the northwest this morning — we were at 53° at 2am, but down to 41° by 7am. We’ll recover somewhat, but temperatures won’t be as mild as they were yesterday. Afternoon highs will reach the upper 40s under partly cloudy skies:
Still not bad for the first full day of winter!
We’ll drop back to the upper 20s tonight, just after midnight, but clouds will move in after that, allowing temperatures to slowly rise by the time you’re heading out the door early Friday morning:
The clouds will continue to thicken throughout the day Friday, but temperatures will still hit the mid 50s thanks to southerly winds:
Tomorrow is a busy travel day, since a lot of folks will take to the sky (hopefully in airplanes) and hit the roads before Christmas weekend…the one national trouble spot looks like the Upper Midwest. In particular, snow could affect flights through O’Hare and Midway airports in Chicago:
Rain is also likely along the West Coast, from Portland down to San Francisco.
A good chance of rain moves into the Midstate Friday night and sticks around Christmas Eve. The latest Futurecast simulation shows the heaviest rain falling late Friday night:
However, there are other forecast models that show heavier rain sticking around later into the day Saturday…keep that in mind if you’re planning some road travel on Christmas Eve, and we’ll keep you updated with the latest timing estimates over the next couple of days.
A warm and breezy Christmas Day in store for us, with highs close to 70°…the second year in a row we’ll be within shouting distance of Nashville’s warmest-Christmas record of 73°:
We won’t be alone in the warm weather pattern Christmas Day — most of the southeastern U.S. will have unusually warm temperatures as well:
The really active weather for Christmas will shape up through the middle of the country. Severe thunderstorms are looking increasingly likely in (where else?) eastern Oklahoma:
Rainy weather will push as far to the north as Minneapolis and Chicago, which pushes the chance of significant snow on Christmas Day up into North Dakota, northern Minnesota, southern Manitoba and western Ontario:
Back here, we’ll see another unseasonably warm day Monday, before a good chance of showers and a few thunderstorms moves in late Monday and Monday night…at this point, severe weather looks unlikely, but we’ll keep an eye on it just in case:
Yet another good chance of rain heads our way Wednesday, helping us chip away at the drought conditions that are still prevalent across the Midstate. The latest update from the U.S. Drought Monitor (released this morning) shows moderate drought conditions across most of the Midstate, with severe drought still over the southern half of the Cumberland Plateau:
LINKS
Last batch of nerd-links for 2016! Tomorrow is a holiday for a lot of folks, so the flow of news will likely be light…and after I work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (write emails to my bosses to praise my dedication!), I’ll be off through Jan 4th. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Some “white Christmas” stuff from the Capital Weather Gang in D.C., including a look at the most-snowy and least-snowy Christmases nationwide since 2003.
Also from CWG: the National Weather Service is testing a new advisory called “potential winter commuting hazard.”
CWG was on a roll with good stuff yesterday, including this piece about snow in the Sahara Desert.
Not just the Sahara, either — here are the most-surprising places it (sometimes) snows.
Of 1,730 reliable weather stations in the U.S., 98% of them are having a warmer than normal year.
The global temperature should be slightly lower in 2017…but that’s not saying much.
A little leftover nerdery from yesterday’s winter solstice…how ancient cultures around the world celebrate the darkest day of the year.
When is the human brain “finished” developing?
The science of the hibernation technology in the movie “Passengers” isn’t too far-fetched.
What to buy for the most boring people you know.
If you’ll be visiting family and away from your gym routine for the holidays, here’s how to work out at your parents’ house (or grandparents’ or in-laws’…)