December Weather

SULTAN WA – If you are dreaming of a white Christmas this year, then you better keep dreaming.

The recent flooding and rainstorms are forecasted to continue throughout the first half of the month. The City of Sultan has addressed the issue in a statement, “The City of Sultan is actively monitoring precipitation and river level forecasts in anticipation of flood activity this week. The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for Snohomish County through early Thursday morning.” (City of Sultan). Although the flooding hasn’t really affected too many, I can’t help but think and remember the floods from all those years ago, when the town was fully flooded.

As we move out of this week, the weather is expected to lighten up and brighten up. The next two weeks see a solid spread of days, with mainly sunny/party sunny days for the rest of the month, excluding the last week.

During winter break, we aren’t supposed to see any snow until after Christmas, and even then, it is forecasted to be a rain show mixture. The 3 snow days are described as “A mix of snow and rain”, “On-and-off snow and rain”, and “A thick cloud cover; a morning rain or snow shower in spots followed by a little rain in the afternoon” (AccuWeather).

Diving deeper into the topic, this year is an El Nino year. “During El Niño, trade winds weaken. Warm water is pushed back east, toward the west coast of the Americas.” (National Ocean Service). Warm waters along with warm air are pushed towards the west coast, instead of the usual wet and cool air that would be blown over in a La Nina year. So realistically speaking, this year is not a good year for snow.

The week of Christmas this year is going to be the transition from the light, chilly, late-fall temperatures, into prime winter temperatures, falling down to the high 20’s, low 30’s. From Christmas onward, going into the new year, we have rain forecasted every day for the rest of the month.

As for the rest of the winter, Farmer’s Almanac predicts, “Snowfall will be above normal across most snow-prone areas (except for the Pacific Northwest)” (Farmer’s Almanac). So literally, everywhere except for our area will have a snowy winter.

Although our chances for a white Christmas don’t look promising, keep your head up and have a great winter break!