This weekend is turning out pretty good for most of the United States. With the exception of the Pacific Northwest and a small section of the upper Midwest, most are seeing unseasonably mild temperatures with sunny skies.
The East Coast will be particularly dry on Sunday, with no rain in sight from Miami to Boston. High temperatures are expected to be above average Sunday afternoon, with Atlanta, Richmond, D.C., New York, and Boston all topping out around 60 degrees following a cool start to the day in the lower 30s.
In the Midwest, a disturbance is bringing isolated rain showers to parts of Iowa, but the rest of the plains shouldn’t need an umbrella. Minneapolis and Chicago should have partly cloudy skies with high temperatures in the mid 40s.
Perhaps the only exception to the relatively tranquil December weather on Sunday will be the Pacific Northwest, which is feeling the brunt of an intense storm moving ashore. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the higher elevations of Washington state. Some areas are expected to receive one to two feet of snow by the middle of the afternoon on Sunday. In the warning, the National Weather Service warns drivers in the area that “significant amounts of snow are forecast that will make travel dangerous”.
A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS.
In the lower elevations of Washington and Oregon, rain will be the theme for most of Sunday, as a relentless stream of moisture surges in off the Pacific Ocean. Temperatures will be warmer but still cool, hovering in the lower to middle 40s during the day.
Meteorologists expect that this winter will kick off on a mild start, with above average temperatures and below average snowfall expected for much of the month of December thanks to El Niño.
