While most of the rest of the country shivers, summer-like weather will be hitting Southern California for the holiday weekend.
Forecasts are showing the region could be the warmest spot celebrating Christmas Day, with temperatures in the 70s across the region and some areas could even hit upward of 80 degrees.
“It will be borderline summery for some spots here,” said Brian Adams, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “Potentially, it’s looking like the warmest spot in the country is going to be here in Southern California. It’s going to be great.”
It could be a good weekend to hit the beach and snap selfies on the sand, with plenty of places along the coast decked out for the holidays.
Or, if you prefer a more seasonal feel, you can soak in the snowy sights in mountains just an hour or two from home. But even the local mountains won’t be nearly as cold as many parts of the country.
Adams shared some regions that will likely be envying Southern California over the weekend: Minneapolis is expecting a high of 5 degrees; areas of the Dakotas and into Illinois are expecting to celebrate in the single digits; and near the Great Lakes temps are going to be in the teens.
The coldest for Christmas Day is expected to be Rolla, North Dakota, at the Canadian border with a high of minus 2.
That’s warmer than earlier this week, when a Siberian cold front dropped the temperature 37 degrees in one hour on Wednesday in Denver, which was setting up for one of the coldest days on record Thursday, with a wind chill that was expected to make things feel as low as 50 degrees below zero across the plains and mountain region, according to The Denver Post.
Even Miami, which is typically the warmest place to be during winter months, will be a mild 62 for the Christmas weekend. Other areas of Florida, such as Tampa and Orlando, will be in the low-50s.
A closer look at Southern California temps forecast areas to be about 9 degrees to 15 degrees warmer than normal for Christmas Eve, and 10 degrees to 17 degrees above the average for this time of year on Christmas Day.
Typically this time of year thermometers are reading in the low- to mid-60s.
Coastal areas of Orange County through Los Angeles are expected to be in the low- to mid-70s, while further inland will be in the mid- to upper-70s.
San Bernardino and Riverside counties are both expected to have a high temperature of about 76 degrees Saturday and 78 degrees on Christmas Day. The San Gabriel Valley is expected to be between 75 degrees and 77 degrees.
Some areas, including near Palm Springs, might even break the 80 degree mark and could end up being the warmest in the country, Adams said.
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