Harrisburg: Upcoming Weekend Chill to Yield to Record-Challenging Warmth by Christmas

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist

December 16,2015; 11:00PM,EST

 

 

A temperature roller coaster is in store for the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, area with a big dip this weekend to be followed by another major upward turn next week.
The weather through the Christmas holiday and beyond will not be kind for cold-weather lovers and skiers in the region.

Coldest Air of the Season So Far This Weekend

On Thursday, highs will be in the 50s F with the next storm slated to bring rain and not snow.
During Friday through this weekend will feel like the third week of December. The weekend could even start with a flurry Friday night. Daytime temperatures will dip to their lowest levels of the season so far with highs forecast to range from the upper 30s to the middle 40s. The average high for Dec. 19 and 20 is 40 degrees. It will get cold enough for ski resorts to make snow this weekend.
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However, the cold will not last and will fail to hook up with any storm.
Next week, the weather will turn progressively warmer just as a series of storms tracks from the South Central states to the Great Lakes.

The storms will bring at least a couple of rounds of rain with the potential for foggy episodes next week in Harrisburg and for much of the Atlantic Seaboard and Appalachians. Ski resorts that choose to make snow this weekend could see it melt away by Christmas.
During Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, temperatures will climb into the 60s and could surpass record highs set during 1990 and 1889, respectively, in Harrisburg.