Flip a coin, California. Parts of the Golden State have about a 50/50 shot at being drier or wetter than usual in December, according to monthly winter weather predictions.
A wet storm that will hit the Pacific Northwest as early as Saturday may bring rain to parts of Northern California off and on through Dec. 17, NOAA reported. It’s unlikely that precipitation will reach south of Santa Cruz.
However, autumn storms have been fickle this year, stymying forecasters.
Wet or dry, California will be warmer than average for most of December, forecasters said, even as a polar vortex plunges temperatures across the Midwest and Northeast. What precipitation falls on the state will likely be rain, not snow, except in mountain regions, according to NOAA.
Will California get rain before Christmas?
Pacific Northwest rainstorms arriving this weekend will bring rain to far Northwestern California, to Del Norte County, and possibly to Humboldt and parts of inland counties Siskiyou and Modoc, according to NOAA’s monthly outlook.
By Christmas, most of the northern part of the state should get a soaking, with some snow in the mountains, NOAA reported, while Southern California towns will get less rain than their historic averages.
The Bay Area to Sacramento to Tahoe National Forest could go either way, depending how far south December storms travel, according to weather forecasts.
Will it rain on Christmas?
Meteorologists warn long-term predictions are tricky, but most weather forecasts for Southern California to the South Bay Area predict sunny weather around the Christmas holiday.
Northern California, especially the Coast, could have a rainy Christmas followed by a drier-than-usual winter, according to NOAA, but it’s a hard call. That’s because the end of the state sits between a drier-than-usual Southern weather pattern and a wetter-than-usual Northwest one.
Will California temperatures be cold or warm in December?
Precipitation in December will fall as rain, not snow, for all but mountain areas, forecasters said.
NOAA and AccuWeather forecasters predict warmer-than-average temperatures throughout most of December for California and the Southwestern half of the country — and a warm winter overall.
This winter is shaping up to be drier and warmer than average overall, according to long-term forecasts.
The exception is the far northern end of the state at the Oregon border, which could be wetter than dry. That area sits sandwiched between two winter weather patterns, according to AccuWeather forecasts: A wetter-than-average one in the Pacific Northwest, and a drier-than-average one starting north of Sacramento.
AccuWeather provides predictions for precipitation, temperatures, and snowfall based on historical data and current weather trends.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica on Record Searchlight Facebook groups Get Out! Nor Cal , Today in Shasta County and Shaping Redding’s Future.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Most of California in for warm Christmas and drier than usual December
Reporting by Jessica Skropanic, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
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