Record Warmth Predicted For December on Long Island

BY KARA SEYMOUR

Are you hoping for a white Christmas?

You most likely won’t get it on Long Island.

Many forecasters are predicting record warmth for December due to a strong El Niño pattern.

The Washington Post reports this month’s mild conditions could be one for the record books. It may be one of the warmest Decembers on record for Long Island, according to the Post.

According to the long-term forecast by AccuWeather, daytime high temperatures will be in the upper 40s and the lows 50s for pretty much the entire month. Just two days this month–Dec. 19-20–are currently predicted to have a high temperature of below 40 degrees.

That forecast is in line with predictions by Michael Ventrice, a seasonal forecaster at WSI, who says December 2015 is expected to feature “near record warm weather” in the northern U.S.

“The highly anomalous warmth in December that is anticipated to develop across North America is attributed to weather patterns driven by the strongest El Niño observed in our data archives,” Ventrice said.

Meanwhile, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center says there is an 80 percent chance that warmer than average temperatures will stick around at least through mid-December.

As for this weekend, expect sunny skies with highs in the low to mid-50s on Long Island.