Weekly Weather Watch: Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Cut the crud, man…I apologize that this is a couple of days later than I usually post a weather heads-up; we’ve been fighting off the crud in my house from ears and noses to lungs to tummies; it has been a week! Since most of my family is on the mend, it’s time to focus on the next week. Travel is at the top of many minds, as is the chance for a White Christmas. So, let’s go through this weekly update on where to see moisture and how much, including how much snow. Plus, we can hit on some travel issues too.
Active weather will be taking control during our peak travel times this week. Here’s an animation showing you the position of storms as they cross the country.
That animation shows some active areas, especially coasts and the Southern Plains. Let’s look at total precipitation first, then I’ll break it down into just snow totals. For total moisture, check out the West Coast, Arizona, the South, and the Southeast! There are a lot of folks to get more than three inches of total water this week.
Santa better have his windshield wipers ready for full operation, and optional wheel gear fixed to his sled this year for lack of snowfall. Here is the total snow, which is not much considering how much water is set to move across the country. There isn’t much cold air, so other than higher elevations, there isn’t much snow to come.
Now, onto a White Christmas. If that means there’s even a hint of snow on the ground, these areas have odds that do favor that.
So, for this week we do have a lot of water coming to a sizable total of the country. Although most of that will be rain, heavy and too much in some cases, there will also be some of the frozen stuff. Enough snow will fall over about a quarter of the country so that there’s at least some amount on the ground Christmas morning. Travel issues will slow folks down due to the heavy rain, and some of that snow in the Rockies. For those in the Southern Plains region and Southwest, you may have been asking Santa for a wetter winter - and you’ll be getting that. Merry Christmas to all and to all a NyQuil… Seriously though, hoping you and yours have a Blessed week of happiness and health. - Matt.
Pacific tropical moisture will drive one of the bigger weather stories this week as it gets pulled north into a slow-moving storm over the Southwest. New Mexico and western Texas face the greatest flash-flood threat early in the week, before heavy rain expands across the Southern Plains, Central Plains and Midwest. Some areas could pick up 3 to 6 inches of rain, with locally higher totals. The wet pattern won’t end quickly either, with the threat gradually shifting east toward the Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys later this week and into the weekend. Meanwhile, the Nor’easter affecting New England is winding down, while late-season heat hangs on across southern Texas and eventually builds across parts of the West.