By: Lead Forecaster Daniel Crawley
Good Friday evening to everyone,
The holiday season is here and with Christmas being less than one week away, everyone is asking; What is the weather going to be like?
One thing we can say for sure is that the cold start to December is going to change in a big way starting next week. A massive sprawling area of high pressure is going to assert itself over the vast majority of the Continental United States. With the exceptions of the Pacific Northwest and parts of New England, the country as a whole is going to warm up in a big way.
The timeframe starting Monday and going through the end of next week will be dominated by temperatures going above normal. Considering some of the cold we have seen recently, this will be a shock to the system. This look at 500 mb is also going to limit precipitation during the same timeframe.
Any high temperature records in jeopardy?
Locally, next week is going to feature temperatures that will be about 20-degrees above normal, especially during the day. Looking at the graphics below for Morganton and Lincolnton, the average Dec 25 high is in the lower 50’s…
Going back into the history books, the projected high temperatures for Christmas Day could definitely fall in top-5 record territory for both Morganton and Lincolnton locations along with additional communities across the western Carolinas. So…if Santa is bringing you the heavy coat for Christmas you can happily store it in the closet and have ready for the next cold spell that hopefully arrives in January 2026.
