Local News

Dry, mild weather through the weekend dashes any hopes for a white Christmas

Temperatures to undergo a brief cooling period before climbing into the 40s.

Air coming across the country from the Pacific is milder than average. TROPICAL TIDBITS

By Dave Epstein, The Boston Globe

Monday’s big storm is secured in the record books and as power crews continue to restore electricity across New England, the weather is now cooperating.

High pressure will once again dominate the forecast right into Christmas. This is great news for travelers, shoppers, and even those looking to do some late fall cleanup. Snow lovers will need to be patient — snow is not in the forecast, likely not until January.

High pressure and its accompanying warm weather will continue to play a role in the weather past Christmas.

The surface map for Thursday, above, shows two areas of high pressure separated by a dry cold front. As this frontal system moves through the area, somewhat colder air will push through from Canada, giving us two days with highs remaining in the 30s for the afternoon.

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The lack of precipitation is going to continue past Christmas. The map below shows total expected precipitation into early Wednesday of next week. Notice the absence of any rain or snow across much of New England. During this time, temperatures will be seasonably cool or even above average, with no signs of any storminess likely until the middle of next week.

Much of New England will be dry heading into the middle of next week.

One of the reasons for the mild air is the continued strong Pacific jet stream. We’ve seen patterns like this over the past few winters where the air coming across the country originates out in the Pacific Ocean and, therefore, it is milder than average across much of the Lower 48.

As a result of all of this Pacific air, when it does storm, a lot of moisture is produced. But at least in Southern New England it’s much harder for that moisture to fall in the form of snow.

Air coming across the country from the Pacific is milder than average.

Unfortunately, Northern New England, which had a foot or more snow in the mountains, has almost completely lost all of its snow cover as a result of Monday’s big rainstorm. Ski resorts have had to shut down for a few days to assess the damage and build back the base of snow they lost. It’s early in the season, so there is still time for these areas to recoup the loss, but it’s likely going to be January before significant snow arrives again.

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Snow cover has diminished to the highest elevations and most of New England is facing bare ground heading into the Christmas holiday.

The 8- to 14-day outlook — which takes us into the new year — continues to show a typical December El Niño pattern of warmer-than-average conditions across the northern tier and near normal to even slightly below normal conditions across the South.

Warmer than average conditions overall are likely for the end of 2023 and the start of the new year. There can still be cold days mixed into the forecast, even in a mild pattern.

Weather outlook

WEDNESDAY: Sunny, with a high near 42 degrees in the Greater Boston area. Northwest wind around 11 miles per hour, with gusts as high as 22 miles per hour. Clear at night, with a low around 28. Northwest wind around 14 miles per hour, with gusts as high as 24 miles per hour.

THURSDAY: Sunny, with a high near 34. Northwest wind 14 to 18 miles per hour, with gusts as high as 29 miles per hour. Clear at night, with a low around 20. North wind 7 to 14 miles per hour.

FRIDAY: Sunny, with a high near 34. Northwest wind 3 to 6 miles per hour. Mostly clear in the evening, with a low around 23. Southwest wind around 6 miles per hour.

SATURDAY: Partly sunny, with a high near 41. Southwest wind 6 to 10 miles per hour. At night, mostly cloudy with a low around 31. Southwest wind 6 to 10 miles per hour.

SUNDAY (Christmas Eve): Mostly sunny, with a high near 46. West wind around 7 miles per hour becoming north in the afternoon. Partly cloudy at night, with a low around 30. Northwest wind around 6 miles per hour.

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