AccuWeather’s US Winter Forecast Calls for a Temperature Roller Coaster

Long-range meteorologists are forecasting a temperature roller coaster through December after a cold start to the month in the Eastern U.S.

December started with an Arctic blast that brought cold air to much of east, leaving much of the West mild and dry. The pattern is flipping in mid-December with a thaw and mild air across much of the eastern and central U.S., and a shift to rain and mountain snow in parts of the West, according to AccuWeather forecasters.

The forecast favors favoring heavier rain and snow in the Pacific Northwest and occasionally Northern California, while later in the month it could turn colder for the Northeast, Great Lakes and Midwest, but not as intense as at the beginning of December.

AccuWeather long-range forecasters say the stormy pattern at the end of the year will continue into early 2025 across much of the western U.S. with an evolving pattern that could direct a few storms into Southern California.

Milder air is expected to bring a thaw in January to parts of the eastern U.S., which could east the demand for heating. Forecasters say late January is expected to be mild-to-warm along the Gulf Coast and into the Tennessee Valley, with the potential for occasional severe weather to through the region.

Forecasters say there could be another major pattern shift bringing cold, wintry weather back to parts of the eastern U.S. in the final month of winter.

Forecasters are predicting above historical average snow totals for parts of the Great Lakes, New England, Upper Midwest, Rockies and Interior Northwest this winter. They expect below-historical average snow totals for parts of the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, Appalachians, Ohio Valley, Midwest and Southwest.