Hello, December 👋
Valley residents are awakening to a fresh coating of snow this morning. For many, it’s the first of the season ❄️ ❄️ ❄️
It caps off a rather pedestrian November in terms of weather, during which temperatures were a degree or so below the long-term average.
Will December, which starts on Wednesday, be more exciting in our neck of the woods? It doesn’t look to be off to a particularly fast start in terms of snow.
A few clipper systems will pass through the region over the next week to 10 days, but these likely won’t contain the energy nor moisture necessary to spin up major coastal storms.
We’ll be in between weather systems on Monday with dry conditions most likely, though a stray flurry couldn’t be ruled out.
Another fast-moving, moisture-starved clipper system will dart across the Northeast on Tuesday, bringing the chance for a light snow shower or two, particularly across the Catskills.
Wednesday looks dry before yet another system races across the area on Thursday. It looks like this one will take a more northerly track, drawing up some relatively milder air with possible rain.
Friday looks most likely to be dry before a little cool down arrives next weekend, but nothing terribly harsh.
In “mobile” weather patterns like this, the exact timing of weather features can be more difficult to pin down until a day or two before. It’s a reminder to keep your eyes peeled to the forecast if you have something important planned.
For the week of December 6th, more of the same looks likely, with temperatures leaning milder than average overall.
The coldest air looks to remain bottled up near Alaska for now! 🥶
Meteorological summer in the Southern Hemisphere
While the Northern Hemisphere welcomes meteorological winter on Wednesday, it’s summer for those south of the equator. An unusually warm November in New Zealand has spurred an early bloom of the country’s classic crimson Christmas tree — the pōhutukawa. It only grows natively in northern New Zealand.
I snapped this picture while out and about in warm, humid Auckland over the weekend.
Make it a great week!