After a tranquil week of weather, things are ramping up for the weekend. A strong winter storm will bring snow for the central and northern plains and heavy rain to the Mississippi and Ohio River basins. Five day rainfall totals will be one to as much as 3 inches, as shown below:

Wintry weather is unlikely in the Ohio River basin either this weekend or on New Year Eve or Day. A slow cooling trend will ensue in the new year, ultimately resulting in more wintry conditions, but the transition will likely take a while.

 

If you’ve been dreaming of a white Christmas, you are likely out of luck.

An exceptionally warm weather pattern is setting up for much of the country Christmas week, with the exception of the west coast where cold storms will be dumping snow on the ski resorts and possibly bringing flooding.

This energetic storm in the west will begin affecting points east as we move toward the new year with increasing precipitation.