Looks Like It's Going To Be A Cold December In Vermont, Eastern U.S.

NOAA's 8 to 14 day outlook says it all. Quite
cold in the East for mid-December,
warm out west. 

No guarantees, but it looks like December in much of the eastern half of the country is going to come in on the cold side.

The weather pattern in November was stuck in that zonal flow, a rapid west-to-east progression of small storms and patches of fair weather, which kept most of the nation either warm, or at least fairly close to normal, with few big storms.

(For the record, Vermont in November was a little on the chilly side of normal, and it was drier than average,)

That flat west-to-east jet stream will begin to buckle this weekend and settle into a pattern with a big northward bulge in western North America, and a big deep dip in the eastern half of the continent.

That means cold weather from the Plains east, and possible snow and storminess from the Great Lakes to the East Coast. (That storminess is much less certain than the forecast for cold, but there is some potential, anyway)

Just like the persistence of the November pattern, it looks like December's pattern will stay put, at least for a couple weeks - if not more - once it sets up during the upcoming week.

That means repeatedly pushes of Arctic air into the eastern half of the nation will be the rule for much of the month. So far, there's no evidence that this will be any kind of record, unprecedented cold. Just generally colder than normal for December. You do have to expect winter weather during the Christmas season anyway right?

In the western third of the nation, it will stay warm under the northward bulge in the jet stream. Alaska looks to stay warm, too, at least by their winter standards.

Here in Vermont, after a cloudy, calm weekend, the weather will temporarily turn windy, wet and warm mid-week as a strong storm intensies  while moving north through the Great Lakes into southern Canada. This storm is part of the process that will usher in this new weather pattern.

The storm's cold front will sweep through Wednesday or Wednesday night, bringing us into winter. It just looks seasonably cold - near normal - at the end of the upcoming week, but the cold will deepen the following week. Again, nothing that will break records, but you'll know it's winter.

It's too soon to know how much snow will accompany this colder weather. I know for sure it will snow, as early as next Saturday, but nobody knows how much. Stay tuned on that one