The forecast is calling for a warming trend across Iowa, and the state’s climatologist says that trend should continue through December.
Harry Hillaker says the weather phenomenon known as El Nino is impacting the weather. Hillaker says you should expect the later part of the month to be warmer than normal, and the month as a whole could end up warmer than normal, despite a cold start.
Hillaker says the warm up may not be welcome by those who like a white Christmas. Hillaker says the El Nino influence favors warmer temperatures and less precipitation, which he says doesn’t totally rule out a white Christmas, but the odds seem to be against it at the moment.
Hillaker says the El Nino impact looks to keep things warmer into the new year, too. Hillaker says historically that favors above normal temperatures in January and February too, which would be a milder midwinter period than normal.
The southeast corner of the state had several inches of snow recently, but little snow remains across the state.