Forget a White Christmas, Record High Forecasted for Holiday

Are you dreaming of a White Christmas?

You should probably stop, unless by “white” you mean white hot and not snowy.

Christmas Eve will be unseasonably warm for this time of year, with temperatures in the mid-50s according to Accuweather senior meteorologist Carl Erickson. That number comes in at about 20 degrees above the average for Dec. 24. 

But that’s nothing compared to the temperature forecasted for Christmas day on Friday. Erickson said that Accuweather is projected a high of 67 degrees on Friday.

The record for Christmas day? It peaked at 63 degrees on Dec. 25 in 1933, which was 82 years ago. 

Erickson said that Friday will likely be the peak of this unseasonable warmth before the weather begins to take a turn toward normalcy, but that doesn’t mean there will be any blizzards in the near future.

“This warmth is going to be around for a while,” Erickson said. “Toward the end of next week, there will be some more surges of cold air coming down from Canada toward Thursday and Friday so we’ll get closer to the average for this time of year with highs in the low 40s or high 30s.”

Having said that, Erickson added that there is no significant snowfall coming in the “near term.” There may be some dustings here and there, but there won’t be piles of white powder around town anytime soon. 

This means easy traveling for those heading out of or into State College for the holiday. Erickson said there will be some rain at times, but “slick travel should be nonexistent around Christmas.”

As for the skiers and snowboarders who are dying to hit the slopes, their best bet is to head out west in the immediate future for some action. But there is a silver (or white) lining, Erickson said, as the snow should be coming next month to get mountains like Tussey open for business.

“There is some good news for ski areas though,” Erickson said. “Deeper into January there will be increased opportunities for snowfall but temperatures will be still be warmer than usual for the month.”

You can find updated forecasts from Accuweather on our website, right here.