According to the sign: from the moment the first snow falls, there are fifty days left until the sledding path. If in part of Latvia the first snow fell only on November 17, then hopes for a sledding path by Epiphany (January 6) will have to be forgotten. It is unlikely to be completely without snow.
After the winter solstice (December 21), light or moderate frost and snowy whiteness are possible in many places.
December is a month rich in surprises. The first winter month can bring the miracle of blooming blue "snowdrops" at Christmas, as it did in 2015, 2006, and 2019, or it can surprise us with frost of minus 40 degrees, as we experienced at the end of 1978. There are just as many surprises with precipitation. On Christmas, there have been silver drizzles, heavy snow, flashes of lightning, and thunder (December 28, 1994). How will it be this year? Will the surprises of the Wolf Month (December) from previous years repeat?
Signs in nature and significant autumn days indicated that winter, having started slowly, will strengthen in many places for a long time in the second half of December.
Signs about December say: if in December, during the new moon, the north wind blows — expect snow and frost. This year, the new moon falls between December 20 and 26. As June is in summer, so is December in winter. The relatively cool and precipitation-rich June hints that December will mostly be warm and humid.
In the first half of December, the weather is mostly uniform. Daytime temperatures range from 0 to plus 7 degrees. At night, with clear skies, temperatures may drop below minus 3 degrees in some places. The sky is predominantly cloudy, often with haze and brief precipitation. Drizzling rain, wet snow, and icy conditions. Roads will freeze at night and will be slippery in many places.
In the middle of the month, there will be more precipitation and windy days. Daytime temperatures will be around zero and slightly above. Cloudy. On the waning moon, around December 17, it will become colder. Snow will fall more frequently. A small snow cover will form in eastern Latvia. Roads will be slippery.
In the second half of December, around Christmas — there will be more snow, and frost will intensify. Daytime temperatures will range from minus 1 to minus 7 degrees. In clear, windless nights, frost of 10–15 degrees is expected in some places, and Christmas in parts of Latvia promises to be white. By the end of the year, it will warm up. There will be light frost and brief precipitation. Roads will freeze and be slippery.
Overall, the first winter month promises to be warmer than usual. Various precipitation, mostly within the norm. In the second half of the month, rivers and lakes in Eastern Latvia will begin to freeze.
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