'Series Of Storm Systems Forecast' For RI Christmas Weekend

We've got our first real indication that Christmas may very well be white ... or at least wet. Six days before Santa comes, the National Weather Service warned of a "series of storm systems forecast ... with potential wintry impacts" Friday night in Saturday and Sunday night (Christmas Eve) into Monday.

The NWS says there is an 80 percent chance of snow Saturday and roughly a 50 percent chance of snow on Christmas. The Saturday precipitation could turn to rain instead - the NWS gives that about a 50 percent chance - and there's a 20 percent shot it rains Christmas.

There is still great uncertainty in the predictions. The NWS says there is a "whole range of possible outcomes" and say forecasts will grow more clear as we get closer to the weekend. But the organization also already issued a hazardous weather outlook for the weekend across all of Rhode Island.

The temperature has a great deal to do with the forecast. Temperatures are expected to float just above freezing during the holiday weekend and plummet quickly heading into the New Year festivities.

AccuWeather says if the cold air pushes east, then it'll be a snowy and icy Christmas.

"However, if the cold air is held back, any storm near Christmas would likely bring a rainy scenario for much of the Northeast," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll said.

Patch will inform you on the updated forecasts as they come in. Sign up to your local Patch herefor Christmas weekend forecasts and other local news.

Photo by Les Anderson on Unsplash