Northeast to go from wet, mild to chilly for final week of December
The month will close out in much of the same way it has panned out throughout the Northeast this year. But AccuWeather meteorologists say there are faint glimmers of hope for lovers of snow and cold as 2024 nears.
Most of the Northeast will have a rather dry Christmas holiday, but a return to wet weather is expected during the final week of 2023.
The weather pattern throughout the Northeast this December, and much of the country for that matter, has left many scratching their heads and searching for Old Man Winter. AccuWeather meteorologists say there may be faint glimmers of hope for snow and cold lovers as 2024 nears but not before wet and mild weather rules through the middle of the week.
As of Dec. 26th, temperatures this month have been 3-6 degrees above the historical average throughout the Northeast with precipitation amounts tallying up to two times the normal amount in some locations. New England has been hit particularly hard with rounds of heavy rain in recent weeks that have led to flooding disasters in some communities.
AccuWeather forecasters say the latest round of damp and mild weather that made it a green Christmas for many comes thanks to a storm track over the center of the country that is pumping mild and moist air into the region. This same storm threatens to unleash a blizzard across part of the northern Plains into Tuesday.
"For most of the final week of 2023, conditions across the Northeast will continue to feel nothing like winter, as mild, damp and occasionally rainy conditions are in store," Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
Fog, haze and areas of drizzle have been commonplace across the region since this past weekend. These dull and dreary conditions continued right into Christmas Day. High temperatures Christmas Day were in the 40s and 50s F throughout the region, as opposed to the teens and 20s felt during an extreme cold outbreak over the holiday last year.
"The far-reaching storm will slowly inch its way east into the mid-Atlantic on Tuesday and then New England by later Wednesday, bringing a return of steadier rain with continued mild weather," Buckingham said.
Prior to the rain reaching these areas, some locations along the Southeast coast and into the southern Appalachians are in for a thorough soaking through Tuesday with an increased risk for flooding.
While AccuWeather meteorologists do not expect this storm to unleash as much rain as prior systems this December in the East, the antecedent wet conditions could result in renewed flooding in some cases.
"Widespread rainfall amounts of around 0.50 of an inch to 1 inch are forecast from the Ohio River Valley to the Eastern Seaboard. However, some locations from Virginia to Massachusetts could be at risk for a few inches of rain," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis said.
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A secondary storm is expected to form along the coast around the middle of the week, bringing a period of moderate to heavy rain which could result in those higher rainfall totals, including in places such as New York City and just south of Boston, Buckingham explained.
Because of the recent rains, some locations may be more susceptible to localized flooding. Low-lying areas could have ponding of water, slowing holiday travelers and dampening any outdoor plans.
"Interior portions of the East have had less rain so far this month and could benefit from the rain. This is especially true across the mountainous areas of Virginia, which remain in a moderate or severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Some parts of western and central New York are also still experiencing drought conditions and could use the rain," Travis said.
Cooler air to follow but still mild for late December
Chillier weather will filter into the Northeast behind the storm but Arctic cold is not in store. Brisk winds and the preceding mild weather will make it feel colder than what the thermometer reads, despite temperatures only dropping to near or even a few degrees above the historical average.
The colder air diving into the region, combined with waves of energy in the upper part of the atmosphere, will help to promote snow showers across the Great Lakes and interior Northeast late in the week and continuing into the first days of January. There is the potential for a few snowflakes to reach the I-95 corridor late Friday into Saturday.
AccuWeather's long-range forecasting team, led by Senior Meteorologist Paul Pastelok, are expecting the period from mid- to late January into early February to promote more lasting cold that could bring the potential for snow along the East Coast.
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