Weekend Weather Outlook

A Spring-Winter clash and an active Central U.S. to Great Lakes storm track will dominate the weather headlines for December’s final weekend.

Today

As one quick-hitting winter storm will exit southern New England to Long Island and parts of northern New Jersey early in the day, a second, yet complex and disorganized storm will begin to form in pieces. The first will trek near the Canada-U.S. border throughout the day, delivering a bit of snow and freezing drizzle or very light freezing rain to parts of the eastern Dakotas and northern Minnesota. The other will pack accumulating snow along the taller Rocky Front Range and Montana and Wyoming Plains.

In the meantime, the system’s cold front will have limited moisture, which means light rain or showers will be confined to the valleys and deserts across the Four Corners.

The Pacific beaches and much of the central U.S. to the Atlantic Seaboard, especially by mid to late morning for the latter, will latch onto quiet weather and increasing amounts of sunshine throughout the day.

The coldest spots will be found from near the Pennsylvania-Maryland-Delaware borders to New England and west of the Rocky Front Range. This is where winter will remain in charge, with highs mainly ranging from the teens and 20s to the 30s and 40s. Some spots near the U.S.-Canada border in northwestern Montana will struggle to reach the single digits above zero to begin the weekend.

In stark contrast, unusually warm, even toasty weather, will spread from the western High Plains to the Ohio and Tennessee valleys and western Carolina Piedmont. Widespread 50s, 60s, 70s, and even lower to middle 80s, will be found here. The Dakotas to Great Lakes and the Gulf Coast to Florida will be warmer than normal as well. 

Sunday

The final Sunday in 2025 will have no shortage of active weather, particularly from parts of the nation’s midsection to the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes. An arctic front will end up draped from near Lake Michigan to the central and Big Bend part of Texas by late during the afternoon and evening.

Low pressure moving along this front will lead to a band of accumulating, wind-driven snow in the Upper Midwest and western and northern Great Lakes in addition to a thin band of icy mix. Ahead of the front, and extending along the storm’s warm front, moderate to heavy rain and thunderstorms will blossom from northeastern Texas to central Michigan and as far east as southwestern New York and much of Pennsylvania. Thunderstorms may contain gusty winds. Only the coldest taller terrain in north-central and northeastern Pennsylvania may have an icy mix initially.

The remainder of the nation, including New England, the Mid-Atlantic to the Gulf Coast and Florida, as well as much of the Western U.S. will be weather-free. Plenty of sunshine will be a nice addition as well!

A Spring preview will deliver a much-needed break from the recent winter doldrum across much of the southern Plains to the Ohio Valley, eastern Great Lakes, Carolinas, and Deep South to the Gulf Coast. Toasty 60s and 70s will reach Indianapolis to St. Louis, with lower to middle 80s popping up from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex to Brownsville, Texas. Even Buffalo, N.Y., will spike in the lower 60s, while the Gulf Coast to Carolinas will warm into the 60s and 70s mainly.

Meanwhile, the Dakotas to western Kansas and all the way to the Pacific beaches will hit a winter snag. Highs will range from near zero in eastern Montana and the western Dakotas to the 50s and lower and middle 60s along the Pacific beaches. Chilly weather will persist in New England and parts of the Mid-Atlantic, where 20s, 30s, and a few 40s will be found.