Bundle Up or Barely Bother? National Weather Service Shakes Up Expectations for North Dakota’s Winter Months!

The calendar says December has arrived, but it doesn't feel like it. As a resident of North Dakota, I love the nice weather...and all indications say it might stay around for a while. According to the National Weather Service's website, the long-range outlook indicates the mild temperature pattern will continue through a good portion of the winter.

Temp Outlook According to National Weather Service

• Warmer-than-average temperatures are favored in Alaska and from the West Coast northeast into the Northern and Central Plains, and then southeast and east into the Mid-Atlantic Coast from northern North Carolina to Maine. The greatest chance (50-60%) for warmer-than-average conditions is from northern California, Washington, and parts of New England.
• Near-normal temperatures are favored from eastern Colorado southeast into Texas.
• The remainder of the U.S. falls have equal chances for below-, near-, or above-average seasonal temperature averages.

Precipitation Outlook According to National Weather Service

• Wetter-than-average conditions across northern Alaska, much of the southern U.S., and along the Atlantic Coast from Massachusetts southeast to Florida. The highest probabilities (60-70%) extend from southern Louisiana northeast into eastern North Carolina and south into southern Florida.
• Drier-than-average conditions are favored from Idaho east into the Great Lakes Region. The highest probabilities (40-50%) are from Montana east into northwest North Dakota, and from the eastern half of Upper Michigan south into northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio.
• The remainder of the U.S. will see equal chances for below-, near-, or above-average seasonal total precipitation.

Again, all of this information is from the National Weather Service's website. They reported it and I am just the messenger. Now, there will be some cold days here and there, but if these indicators hold, it will hopefully be a nice, mild winter. That would be a nice way to kick off 2024!

Get our free mobile app