Dec 17: Damaging Winds Ahead of Mild Late-week System That Brings Rain, not Snow

As we've been discussing for the past couple of weeks, December has started off extremely cold with many locations across the East experiencing their top 10 coldest starts to the month on record: 

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and by contrast, outside of the Central Valley of California, the West has many places experiencing their top 10 warmest starts to the month. This has led to record low snowpack across the region:

As another system moves across the West, it is bringing rain but very little snow as the temperatures are too warm except for the highest elevations. Through this weekend, more heavy rain will fall across the Pacific Northwest and extend down into Northern California: 

The snow will be confined to the highest elevations though, at least through this weekend: 

There are signs for a colder pattern for the Western US as we approach the end of the year. More info on that in the days to come. 

Back to the Eastern half of the US, the most recent system to bring rain to the Northwest will spread rain and some storms across the East. Generally modest rain amounts in the .5" to 1" range but a few locally heavier spots are possible, like across the Florida Panhandle and New England: 

The general timing has the rain moving through the Midwest and South on Thursday with the system moving off the New England coast by later on Friday. The below animation is from 1 am ET Thu to 1 pm ET Friday: 

This system has already brought gusty winds to the front range of the Rockies in Colorado today and will spread more strong winds across the eastern US. Batten down those Holiday inflatables and wind gusts could top 40 mph for much of the region: 

There isn't a huge temperature drop behind this system and the general pattern will be to keep much of the country outside of perhaps the Upper Midwest andNew England above average through the Christmas Holiday:

During that same time frame, the precipitation outlook shows the West staying quite active while the Eastern US outside of the Northeast will have below average precipitation: 

As for that ever important White Christmas potential, it appears most of the country will remain dreaming for snow unless you head to the Upper Midwest, Mountain West, and interior Northeast: