Kwanzaa to begin with dry, cold weather in most of the US

Kwanzaa, an annual holiday affirming African family and social values, will begin dry Saturday for much of the United States, but stormier days may then follow.

As many prepare to observe Kwanzaa, celebrated primarily from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, much of the U.S. will be free of precipitation. Even with that being the case, conditions will not necessarily be ideal for any outdoor celebrations.

"Temperatures will be quite a bit lower than average up and down the Eastern Seaboard, with Saturday likely being the coldest day of the weekend," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Renee Duff.

Anyone willing to brave the cold will not need to worry about rain or snow causing any disruptions in most of the eastern two-thirds of the country, with one exception.

"Fortunately for those looking to celebrate safely outdoors in the East, an area of high pressure will be anchored over the area this weekend, leading to mostly dry weather and some sunshine," said Duff. "Although, there will still be some lake-effect snow showers pestering parts of the Great Lakes."

Farther west, a storm system will be slamming into the Northwest coast. Therefore, those planning to be outside will need to be prepared for rain and, in higher elevations, snow. Outside of the Northwest, the western part of the country is still in the midst of an extreme to exceptional drought.

"The Northwest and Northern and Central California are likely to be unsettled at the start of Kwanzaa," added Duff.

The system that will affect the Northwest on Saturday will reorganize in the Ohio Valley on Sunday and Sunday night. As the storm strengthens, rain showers will expand in coverage. On the northern and western side of the system, locations such as Chicago and Milwaukee may be cold enough for snow, although heavy snow is not expected.

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Meanwhile, another system will be set to affect the West, although in a slightly different location.

"A shift in the storm track will bring precipitation to Southern California early next week," said Duff.

This will likely allow areas that have been missed by rain and snow to finally receive some beneficial precipitation. For cities such as Los Angeles, where just two hundredths of an inch of rain has fallen since Nov. 7, Monday could mark the return of some more robust precipitation.

Dry weather is expected to return to California by Tuesday as that system moves eastward.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

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