NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – With colder temperatures in the seven-day forecast, people are wondering how this winter is going to pan out. And most of all, what about Christmas?

The National Weather Service’s seasonal outlook for the combined months of December, January and February is calling for slightly above-normal temperatures.

Meanwhile, they are also forecasting slightly above-normal precipitation.

But does a forecast for above-normal temperatures mean it won’t get cold at all this winter and there won’t be any snow? Not necessarily.

“It is a roller coaster, right?” noted Matt Reagan, National Weather Service Lead Forecaster.  “We do have periods of above-average temperatures and then a cold front will come through and we’ll get a couple of days of cold weather before those warmer temperatures return.  So, when you kind of average it all out throughout the season, then yes, you can have above average temperatures, but still have some cold pockets in there.”

And one of those cold pockets is expected to come our way just in time for the Christmas holiday season.

The 8-14 day outlook for December 22-28 is calling for significantly below-average temperatures across the mid-south.

“What we’re looking at as we move into the next week to two weeks, which does include the Christmas period, it looks like we’re going to dry out a little bit, and it looks like we are in for a cold spell,” Reagan said.

And even though that same 8-14 day outlook is predicting below-average precipitation, if cold air is in place, there is still at least hope that there could be some white stuff mixed in during that time period.

“There’s a lot of ingredients that have to come together.” Explained Reagan. “The cold air has to get here at the right time. There still has to be moisture around. So, we can’t really speculate on that at this point, but at least the cold air will be in place.”

So, right now we’re not forecasting a white Christmas. But with much colder air expected, we’ll see!