A Mild Dry Bias Should Linger Into Christmas

“Are you dreaming of a white Christmas?”
“Minnesota. Maine. Upstate New York. The Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Practically anywhere in Idaho. And of course, the Rockies or the Sierra Nevada Mountains. These are the parts of the Lower 48* where weather history suggests you want to be if you’re looking for the best chance of a white Christmas. The map at right shows the historic probability of there being at least 1 inch of snow on the ground in the Lower 48 states on December 25 based on the latest (1981-2010) U.S. Climate Normals from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). The background map shows interpolated values for all locations. (Interpolating means estimating unknown values using known values and physical relationships, such as the way temperature is known to change with altitude.) You can also click and zoom in to specific stations used for the interpolation.”
See more from Climate.gov HERE:

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6 to 10 Day Temperature Outlook

According to NOAA’s CPC, the extended temperature outlook from December 19th to the 23rd suggests that temperatures will be warmer than average across much of the nation.

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“How To Tell If Your Symptoms Are The Flu Or Just A Cold”“The flu and the common cold are nasty respiratory illnesses with some similar symptoms. Here’s how to tell the difference. In the winter literally everyone seems to be getting sick. Your coworker won’t stop coughing and your kid keeps coming home from school a snotty mess, and a box of tissues barely lasts you one day. Contrary to popular belief, cold weather does not make you sick — but respiratory viruses (namely, influenza) do tend to peak during the fall and winter. In the US, flu season typically lasts from October to March. However, a nasty case of sniffles and aches during the winter doesn’t always mean you have the flu. Often, it’s just a cold, which you can get any time of the year. The common cold and flu are both contagious respiratory illnesses that can make you feel miserable, but they are caused by different viruses. Some flu symptoms may mimic a cold, but the flu tends to be much more serious and deadly — so it’s important to know the difference between these two illnesses. Obviously, only a doctor can diagnose you, but knowing how to recognize symptoms is always helpful. So how can you tell if your symptoms mean you have a cold or the flu, and what is the best treatment? We spoke to Dr. Tania Elliott, an allergist and immunologist at NYU Langone Health in New York City, to find out.”
See more from Buzzfeed HERE:

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“14 Ways to Avoid Colds and Flu”
“Are you avoiding your co-worker with that hacking cough, cold, or flu in the cubicle next to you? Do you draw your hand back from every doorknob? Have cold-and-flu phobia? Get a grip before the grippe gets you. Weve consulted dozens of medical experts to bring you 14 ways to avoid colds and flu this season. Every time you shake someones hand, wash yours: But dont stop there. Wash them as much as possible, says Mark Mengel, MD, chair of community and family medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. Running lots of water over your hands will dilute any germs and send them down the drain. Keep your hands off: Touching your nose and your eyes may hurt you, Mengel says. Those are the most common places for germs to get in.”
See more from Health.com HERE:

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“Ice conditions around state called tricky by conservation officers”

A sustained period of freezing temperatures jump-started Minnesota’s ice fishing season this year, but the weekend deaths of two fishermen northwest of Little Falls underscored observations from around the state that ice conditions are tricky. “You really still have to be cautious,’’ Tim Sonenstahl of Wayzata Bait & Tackle said. He said Tuesday that Lake Minnetonka’s deepest areas are now frozen, but ice thickness across some of those large surfaces is inconsistent and too thin in some areas to travel by foot. Some areas have only recently hardened after being kept open by flocks of ducks. Covered with snow, they now look no different than ice that is safe to walk on, he said. Sonenstahl said Minnetonka’s ice is 7 to 8 inches thick on small bays like Black Lake and Seton Lake. Carson Bay, larger and popular for fishing, was covered Tuesday by 4 to 7 inches, he said. The good news for anglers is that the ice is getting thicker by the day, he said.”

See more from StarTribune HERE:

_________________________________________________________________________Recent Cold Weather Making Ice on Area Lakes and Ponds
Ok folks – I know there A LOT of eager anglers excited that the recent cold blast has been making ice on area lakes and ponds, BUT please make sure you aren’t putting yourself in danger on newly formed ice! The MN DNR has some basic guidelines on how thick the ice should be before you even think about stepping out onto the ice! Also remember that ice is NEVER 100% SAFE!
See more from the MN DNR HERE:

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Mostly Quiet Weather Ahead
Quiet weather conditions will continue through the weekend and into early next week. In fact, I don’t see much precipitation potential through much of next week either! Commuters will be happy, but snow lovers and meteorologists alike are quite bored…

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GFS (American Model) Snowfall Forecast
Here’s the latest snowfall forecast through the middle part of next week. Note that much of the state looks to remain high and dry with only a little snow potential across the international border.

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Moon Phase for December 15th at Midnight
0.8 Days Since First Quarter Moon

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What’s in the Night Sky?

According to EarthSky.org this is what will be visible in the night sky over the next several nights:

“Now – mid-December 2018 – it’s time to get outside in the early morning and try to spot our sun’s innermost planet, Mercury. Look east, the sunrise direction. You can’t miss super-bright Venus. Mercury is below it, near the sunrise point. If you look extra hard with the unaided eye or binoculars, you might spot bright Jupiter near the horizon, too, on a line with Venus and Mercury. Mercury shines more brightly than a 1st-magnitude star now; in other words, it’s as bright as the brightest stars in our sky (but not nearly as brilliant as Venus). Bring along binoculars, if you have them, though. With daylight coming up fast, you could easily lose Mercury in the morning twilight.”

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National High Temps – Tuesday, December 11th
High temps across the country look to be well above average in most locations with the exception of those in the Southern US. It looks like much of the country will stay much above average over the next several days with no Arctic outbreaks in sight anytime soon.

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National Weather Outlook

Weather conditions in the Southern and Eastern US will continue to remain active as a fairly potent storm system slides across the region. The good news is that temps won’t be quite as cold as it was last weekend, so snow and ice concerns will remain limited. However, areas of heavy rain and a few strong to severe storms will still be possible into Saturday. Meanwhile, another push of Pacific moisture will work into the Northwest with areas of heavy coastal rain and heavy mountain snow. The rest of the country looks to remain quiet.

7 Day Precipitation Potential

According to NOAA’s WPC, the 7 day precipitation potential suggests heavy precipitation continuing in the eastern part of the country with isolated flood concerns possible through the weekend. Meanwhile, several inches of liquid will be possible along the West Coast with isolated flood concerns along the coast and areas of heavy snow likely in the mountains.

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“Climate change is ‘shrinking winter'”

“Snowy mountain winters are being “squeezed” by climate change, according to scientists in California. Researchers who studied the winter snowfall in the mountains there revealed that rising temperatures are reducing the period during which snow is on the ground in the mountains – snow that millions rely on for their fresh water. They presented their findings at the American Geophysical Union meeting – the world’s largest gathering of Earth and space scientists. “Our winters are getting sick and we know why,” said Prof Amato Evan, from the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, who carried out the investigation. “It’s climate change; it’s rising temperatures.”

See more from BBC HERE:

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“Will we ever be able to control gravity?”

“The only hope of tailoring gravity to our needs lies with quantum vacuum effects, in which energy and particles and anti-particles appear out of nowhere. These are predicted to have anti-gravitational properties, and may already be propelling the expansion of the Universe in the form of ‘dark energy’. But as yet no-one has any idea how to generate and manipulate such effects to order.”

See more Science Focus HERE:

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“Warming in Arctic raises fears of ‘rapid unraveling’ of the region”

“Persistent warming in the Arctic is pushing the region into “uncharted territory” and increasingly affecting the continental United States, scientists said Tuesday. “We’re seeing this continued increase of warmth pervading across the entire Arctic system,” said Emily Osborne, an official with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who presented the agency’s annual assessment of the state of the region, the “Arctic Report Card.” The Arctic has been warmer over the last five years than at any time since records began in 1900, the report found, and the region is warming at twice the rate as the rest of the planet. Osborne, the lead editor of the report and manager of NOAA’s Arctic Research Program, said the Arctic was undergoing its “most unprecedented transition in human history.”

See more from Seattle Times HERE: