Snow On the Way this Week

The warmest temperature recorded on Christmas Day is 15.6C. Yes, cold has been king lately, at least until today. Technically, we shouldn’t need one just yet as winter hasn’t even officially begun.

Thursday is the winter solstice, and it could bring the season’s first major snowstorm to the Twin Cities metro. Some additional snow accumulations are possible Friday.

Forecast data shows that limited moisture will be available for the Christmas weekend, so snow, ice, and sleet will remain out of the forecast at this time.

The snow that does fall on Thursday will be sticking around for a while thanks to a stretch of very cold weather. Areas along the coast will be dry and mild until Friday night.

Highest snowfall totals are expected at Marias Pass near Glacier National Park, where more than 3 feet of snow is possible making travel impossible Tuesday evening, the Weather Service said. That means more than half of all Christmas Days are expected to be a white Christmas. The cold air does help to clear the air though.

Other major guidance models, including the normally reliable European model, are projecting a later return of colder air.

Starting late Wednesday, a strong cold front moves through and drops our high to 25 for Thursday afternoon.

One last chance… There is one last possibility and that comes on Christmas Day.

Christmas Day’s high will be in the lower to middle 20s.

Temperatures have been mild this weekend. Highs may again climb past 50 degrees, especially Saturday when mid 50s aren’t out of the question.

“However, skies are likely to turn cloudier in the north and west with outbreaks of rain developing into Saturday”.

Will it stay wet and windy for Christmas?

The Bureau of Meteorology has announced their forecast for Christmas Day weather and Melbourne looks to be a 10/10.