A vast and abnormally muscled area of high pressure is forecast to keep Florida gooey warm this week with record-challenging high temperatures in areas of the Panhandle on Christmas Day.
Early in the week, the capacious swirl of clockwise winds centered over the mid-Atlantic will boost breezy conditions, with National Weather Service meteorologists in Miami cautioning to keep an eye on outdoor holiday decorations as winds gust to more than 30 mph through Dec. 23.
Then a tepid heat settles in with temperatures near 80 degrees in West Palm Beach and in the upper 70s in Tallahassee, where forecasters noted the record high for Christmas Day is 82 degrees, set in 2016.
“It’s definitely going to be balmy for the holidays, so, yeah, shorts for Christmas,” said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tyler Roys. “There’s going to be a chunk of the country that won’t be feeling like Christmas.”
High pressure pumping in arid air from Mexico into the Southwest, and the Central and Southern Plains will keep Christmas Day high temps in the upper 70s from Tucson, Arizona, through Goodland, Kansas. Some areas are forecast to experience temperatures that are 15-30 degrees warmer than normal on Christmas Day, according to AccuWeather.
Florida’s Gulf Coast from Sarasota to Naples could reach into the low 80s, which is above normal but lower than the record of 89 degrees in Naples on Christmas Day set in 2015. Sarasota’s record is 85 degrees set on Dec. 25, 2016.
Normal high pressure this time of year is about 1020 millibars, but the current system was at 1035 millibars on Dec. 22. That’s in the highest 96th to 98th percentile for strength, NWS meteorologists said.
Roys said travelers should be aware that flights into areas of California may be delayed by two gushing atmospheric rivers. One is happening early in the week, and the other will run from Christmas Day through week’s end. San Francisco and Los Angeles could see up to 4 inches of rain, with areas closer to the mountains reaching up to 8 inches.
“It’s going to be wet,” Roys said. “Impacts of airport delays to some of the big airports in Los Angeles and San Francisco are going to be on the higher side.”
For Palm Beach County, daytime high temperatures are forecast to be near 80 degrees through Dec. 28 at the coast with overnight lows in the mid-60s. Normal daytime highs in West Palm Beach for this time of year are closer to 76 degrees. The normal overnight low is 61 degrees.
Christmas Day in West Palm Beach will be mostly sunny with a forecast high of 81 degrees.
Visitors may revel in the sultry December air, but locals are likely eager for the next cool front. This month, every day but two through Dec. 21 have been warmer than normal by as much as 9 degrees. Only Dec. 11 and 12 experienced below-normal average temperatures when overnight lows measured 54 degrees both nights as measured at Palm Beach International Airport.
Will Redman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s office in Miami, said the weather pattern isn’t expected to change much at least into the first few days of 2026.
“We’re just looking at more humid conditions with this locked in high pressure,” Redman said. “We have this all summer, so we prefer a bit of a cool down
Rain chances in South Floria remain low through the week but pop showers are possible along the east coast with the easterly winds.
The breezy conditions may also mean rough surf and higher risks of rip currents at the beaches, Redman said. A small craft advisory is in effect through at least the evening of Dec. 23.
Holiday travelers may also experience delays in the Northwest and Northeast as the jet stream traps cold temperatures and stormy weather in the higher latitudes.
The best chances for snow will be in the northern tier of the Midwest through the Northeast.
“The strengthening of the polar vortex is locking up the coldest air in Canada with the main track of storms near the U.S./Canada border for the week ahead,” said AccuWeather lead long-range meteorologist Paul Pastelok.
Jeff Berardelli, chief meteorologist for WFLA-TV in Tampa, posted on social media that he calculated the chances for a white Christmas in Florida and “it’s worse than expected” at -100%.
“I promise, I checked and rechecked. It’s correct,” he joked.
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather, and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Here’s Christmas week weather forecast for Florida, Palm Beach County
Reporting by Kimberly Miller, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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