Odds and Ends

In Albany, NY today, 26 December, no measurable snow fell. This is the 271 consecutive day between the last measurable snow and the first measurable snow of this winter.  We are now in sole possession on 2nd place for this snow-less streak.

(Top 5 Longest stretches of no snow for Albany, NY.)

December 2015 for many locations across the Northeast including Albany, Buffalo and Glens Falls will likely have their all-time warmest December on record, shattering previous all-time record warmest Decembers. These 3 mentioned locations are all averaging 12° to 13.5° ABOVE normal monthly December temperatures.  

Location	Dec. 2015 Avg, Monthly Temp.	Departure from Normal
Albany	43.0°	+13.6°
Glens Falls	39.2°	+13.2°
Buffalo	43.6°	+12.6°

(Dec. 2015 Average Monthly Temps and Departures through 12/25/15)

This upcoming week will feature a threat for our first measurable snow of the 2015-2016 winter season. This will happen on late Monday 28 Dec into Tuesday morning the 29th. Right now, the snow looks like it will transition to sleet, a bit of freezing rain then rain for all. Expect a messy morning drive next Tuesday. Also expect some measurable snow, too. How much? Its too early to say. Much will depend on how quickly the snow transitions to rain. This changeover will occur from south to north across Eastern NY State so areas to the north of I-90 (The NY Thruway and Mass. Pike) stand to get the "greater" accumulations but as of right now amounts don't look to be too heavy.

Albany

43.0°

+13.6°

Glens Falls

39.2°

+13.2°

Buffalo

43.6°

+12.6°

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Past

Here is a quick climatological summary of weather for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for both  Glens Falls and Albany, New York.

In the case of the records for both locations for December 24th, it still looks likely that daily record highs will be set this year. If we get any sunshine on the 24th, Albany may also take a run at the all-time warmest high temperature for the month of December, which is 71° set on Dec 29th in 1984, I estimate the probability of this to happen to be about 15%. Again, it seems very likely that both locations will set daily record high temperatures this coming Christmas Eve.

Comparison of Warmest & Coldest Christmas Eves and Christmas Days for Glens Falls,NY

Comparison of Warmest & Coldest Christmas Eves and Christmas Days for Albany,NY

Early Morning National Weather

December Sizzle

After a record warm month of November for both Glens Falls and Albany, December is definitely trying to out do last month's record average monthly temperatures. The graphs below show the top 10 warmest Decembers for Albany on the left and Glens Falls on the right, Along with the average monthly temperature for each location.

In the table below the average monthly temperatures and their departures from normal for December 2015 are given (through the 18th of December). As of this date (the 18th)  for both locations, December 2015 ranks as the WARMEST December on record.

Temperature Data	Albany	Glens Falls
Normal December Temperature	28.5 °	25.9 °
Monthly Avg for  December 2015	42.5 °	38.9 °
Departure from Normal	+ 11.8 °	+ 11.5 °

As for the expected temperatures this upcoming Christmas week they look to be way above normal. As a matter of fact this Christmas Eve looks to be a record warm one. The forecast highs and records for the 24th are as follows: Albany forecast high 62° / record high 57° set in 1941 and for Glens Falls forecast high of 60° with the record being a mere 49° set in 1957.

Christmas Day looks to be cooler but still mild with temps in the 40s for both locations.