Florida is in for a Freezing Christmas
You may not want to hear this, but as it turns out, Florida is actually in for a colder Christmas than normal. It may seem early to start thinking about Christmas, but Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away, and there’s less than two months to go until Christmas is here. Besides, if you’re planning to travel over the holidays, chances are you already have your travel plans set and are just hoping for good weather at this point. So, now is the time to look ahead and plan for those holiday travels, because you never can plan too early for a fun and safe Christmas.
Florida is in for a Freezing Christmas
The weather experts at the Farmer’s Almanac have released their annual prediction for what Christmas will look like across America. I know it seems early to predict weather on December 25, but they’ve been doing it for years.
If you’re wondering how accurate weather forecasts tend to be, as you might expect, they get more accurate the closer weather experts are to predicting them. “A seven-day forecast can accurately predict the weather about 80 percent of the time and a five-day forecast can accurately predict the weather approximately 90 percent of the time. However, a 10-day—or longer—forecast is only right about half the time,” notes SciJinks. They also explain that “meteorologists use computer programs called weather models to make forecasts,” but “since we can’t collect data from the future, models have to use estimates and assumptions to predict future weather.” So, we’re looking at about half the accuracy, but since this predicted is pretty far out, it could be even less. Still, it’s fun to see what the Farmer’s Almanac predicts.
Christmas falls on Wednesday, December 25, this year. The Farmer’s Almanac forecast runs from Christmas Eve, December 24, until Wednesday, December 27, 2024. For Florida, the Farmer’s Almanac map shows Florida as one of the only states in dark green, meaning it’s going to be “cold.” They state that “most of the U.S. has average to above-average temperatures, so many people are looking at a mild month,” but “the exception is the eastern Carolinas through Florida and Alaska, which will be below normal.” Their forecast also calls for rain on Christmas in Florida. So, cold and rainy.
In general for the U.S., they note that December precipitation will be above normal in parts of the Great Lakes, Tennessee Valley, Texas–Oklahoma, and the northern Pacific Northwest. Everywhere else, precipitation is expected to be “near to below normal.”