Christmas is just around the corner, with a few good hints about what the weather will be like. Each year as Christmas approaches I know I'm going to get asked the same question over and over again: what will the weather be like on Christmas Day? In fact, the first day I was asked this year, was on the 1st of December - three and a half weeks out! Many people wonder at what kind of range meteorologists can forecast the weather of individual days. At Weatherzone, we regularly forecast with some skill out to 14 days, compared with climate, for our clients. Although at 14 days range our forecasts are more of an indication towards warmer or cooler than average temperatures. Beyond this chaos theory (aka the butterfly effect) well and truly takes over. Looking towards the week of Christmas and heat is going to surge into the south of the nation on Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd ahead of a front and trough. The trough is then likely to slowly move over central Australia and VIC, with only weak cool changes affecting the south. On Christmas Day, the trough is likely to sit across western Queensland and through central NSW, possibly still lying over eastern Victoria. But what does this mean for Christmas weather? A hot airmass should lie across Queensland, as well as northern and eastern New South Wales, although coastal areas will be kept cooler with seabreezes. Western QLD and along the NSW ranges there should be showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon, possibly affecting coastal NSW. Victoria and Tasmania should be a bit cooler, with the risk of showers, most likely in western TAS. Both states look fairly cool, with the chance of being cold in TAS if a front rolls through. South Australia and southern WA look to be mild and mostly sunny sunny due to a high pressure ridge lying across the south. Western parts of WA look likely to be fairly warm, although seabreezes will limit heating near the coast. Meanwhile the tropics are likely to see showers and thunderstorms as per normal due to a region of low pressure. Storms are likely to be most widespread in the WA Kimberley and western Top End. Whatever the weather, I hope and pray you have a merry Christmas.