(IntegrityWeather.com) — A ridge of high pressure will build over the area during the week of December 22nd allowing the polar jet to retreat northward and a less active pattern over a large portion of the Midwest.
The ridge is forecast to break down later in the period which will be the return to our storm cycle by the end of the month and beginning of January.
From what I am sampling of the long range; this pattern will favor dynamic setups with severe weather and winter weather as we tap into the main source of gulf moisture.
The odds of a white Christmas will be heavily based on the current snowpack and the amount of melting that occurs throughout the next week.
Bottom line, we will see a quiet period ahead as the pattern moderates before precipitation chances return by the end of the month.
Meteorologist Maurer
