December weather: A big chill incoming

Jon Siemianowski, Staff Writer

Photo Courtesy of Jon Siemianowski

For this month so far, we do not have any sign of another major storm occurring within the next couple of weeks like what happened a while back. However, with extreme temperature variations over the country this month, it is especially important to prepare for a possible storm.

Currently, one of the things that is on tap is the potential for a brief warming in temperatures for a week or so before temperatures crash again. Through December 19th, the pattern in weather appears to be locked into warmer temperatures, nearing 40 degrees. After December 19, meteorologists predict that the temperatures will only be in the 20’s for high temperatures with the possibility of large amounts of snow.  

This period looks to be a transition period to colder weather overall. Beyond the 24th and into Christmas, it seems as if a chunk of the polar vortex, a large area of very cold air around the North Pole, could break away and spin off into the United States. It would start on the West Coast around the 24th and make its way east through the Christmas holiday. If this were to occur, the possibility of a potentially widespread snow storm would need to be watched because of the magnitude of the transition.

Nevertheless, it is still something to keep in mind that the exact details of when the transition to colder weather and snow will occur are still somewhat uncertain, but it is predicted to occur sometime near or after the Christmas holiday.