Irving Berlin’s White Christmas may not be the top choice for holiday music for Comox Valley residents this year, as green and wet may be more accurate lyrics to describe the weather on Christmas Day.Those wishing for snow on Dec. 25 may have to look to nearby mountains, as Environment Canada is predicting a high of 8C Sunday with rain.Although it may seem unseasonably warm, the average high for this time of year is 5.8C, with lows dipping down to 0.7C at night.Temperatures today are predicted to reach 7C with showers, and reach as warm as 9C Saturday with periods of rain. The weather outside may not seem frightful, but Valley residents don’t have to look that far behind them to recall when the area received a white Christmas — there was 38 cm of snow on the ground in 2008.That was also a record-breaking year for lowest temperature, with nighttime lows reaching -8C only three years ago.Looking ahead into the new year, the weather is predicted to be warm and wet, with forecast highs above the daily average through Jan. 5.Early weather predictions in the fall indicated the Comox Valley would experience a La Niña phenomenon — when sea surface temperatures across the equatorial central and eastern Pacific are below normal, often producing extreme cold outbreaks across Western Canada due to the influence it has on the jet stream. photos@comoxvalleyrecord.com

Comox Valley Record