The temperature outlook favors well above normal temperatures across much of the nation, with the exception of the Southwest. On November 30, CPC released its updated monthly climate outlooks for temperature, precipitation, and drought across the United States for December 2023.

For more details on how to interpret these maps, read our explainer Understanding NOAA's monthly climate outlooks. Map by NOAA, based on data from the Climate Prediction Center. White areas indicate that there are equal chances for a warm, cool, or near-average December.

temperature outlook for December 2023 (view Alaska), showing places where a much warmer than average December is favored (orange to red).