Looking ahead to next week

AccuWeather's Joe Lundberg takes a look at what the weather will be like around the United States next week.

Transcript

00:00Old man winter has gotten off to a very fast start across most of the country.

00:06There's a lot of cold, there's a lot of snow.

00:08That's about to change.

00:09As we go to the period from December 19th through the 25th, right up to Christmas Day,

00:13you're going to see an expansion of milder air across most of the country,

00:16from the plains to the northeast, something you've seen little of over the past two or three weeks.

00:21Now, there will be some snow and ice threats with the retreating cold air,

00:24and there will be a series of storms that will continue to pound portions of the west

00:28with a lot of rain and mountain snow.

00:31How cold has it been for the first 11 days of December?

00:34Most places near and east of the Mississippi, 5 to 10 degrees below historical averages.

00:40St. Louis, Indianapolis, New York City, 6, 7, 8 degrees.

00:43In fact, you go far to the north, we're talking 10 to 15 degrees below those historical averages.

00:48And in concert with that, look at the snow cover.

00:50All the way from the northern plains down into the Ohio Valley and into the mid-Atlantic and northeast.

00:55And that's not going to go anywhere anytime soon.

00:58However, things are about to change.

01:00If you look at the weather pattern for that period I'm talking about, December 19th through the 25th,

01:06right up to Christmas Day, you'll see a flattening of the jet stream flow.

01:10That means the milder air that's already starting to build across the southern plains

01:13will be spreading east and northeast.

01:15So you're going to start to see some relief from the cold in Chicago, in Detroit, in New York City,

01:20and even into Boston, although the cold air won't go too far away to the north and east.

01:25And as any disturbance comes along in this flow, we are concerned that some of these areas in here

01:29may have to contend with some snow and ice.

01:31Meanwhile, with this fast jet stream into the west, you're going to see a lot of storm systems

01:35with a lot of rain and mountain snow.

01:37So let's go back and take a look at the forecast for that period right before Christmas.

01:42We think a storm track will come out of the central plains toward the Great Lakes and northeast.

01:46And again, on the north side of it, some snow and ice potential.

01:49To the south of it, nothing but showers.

01:50And again, the west is going to be pounded by rain and mountain snow.

01:54To the south of it, mungkin the east is going to be pounded by rain and mountain snow.

02:05And the east is going to be pounded by rain and snow.

02:10And again, the west is going to be king and o'err on the east, and there is one of a few