[Snow covered trees from Lake Tahoe. Photo by Todd Diemer on Unsplash]
The outlook is in for the first month of winter and the season expected to start on a mild note. That’s according to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, which issued the forecast this morning (Thursday). Most of the nation is expected to see a warmer than normal month, with the highest likelihood along the Gulf of Mexico coastline, in the Southeast and throughout the Middle Atlantic.
Chances for a warmer than normal December are elevated across much of the nation, while increased chances of a relatively wet month exist across much of the Rockies and Great Basin. https://t.co/JI2DUvhln5 pic.twitter.com/5jGNW44mBO
— NWSCPC (@NWSCPC) November 21, 2019
Increased snowfall is a good bet throughout the Rockies and into the Great Basin. The precipitation forecast is calling for a wetter than average month for those areas. A small area of drier than normal weather is predicted for South Texas.
The outlook was based on model guidance, global patterns, climate observations and long-term trends. With no presence of El Nino or La Nina, weather model forecasts of expected global patterns influenced the forecast the most.