Get ready to bundle up. Centre County could see the coldest Christmas Eve since 1999

Forecasts are calling for the coldest Christmas Eve in central Pennsylvania in more than 20 years.

Winter begins Wednesday — the solstice is at 4:48 p.m. — and it will quickly take hold. A storm Thursday is expected to lead into a bitterly cold Christmas weekend in Centre County.

Meteorologist Aaron Tyburski, with the National Weather Service in State College, said the storm will first bring snow to the area Thursday morning. The region may also sleet or freezing rain, but temperatures will warm up and the precipitation will turn to rain during the day.

The rain will continue overnight into Friday and turn to snow by late morning or early afternoon. There won’t be a lot of accumulation, said Tyburski, who added that could change as the week goes on.

The changes in weather will be rapid, Tyburski said, as temperatures fall from the 40s into the teens. By Saturday morning, temperatures will be in the single digits and the snow will have diminished.

The high temperature Saturday will be in the lower teens. That marks the coldest Christmas Eve since 1999. Temperatures on Christmas Day will creep into the upper teens with some sunshine. The weekend will also be quite windy, with gusts potentially up to 35 mph.

It’s going to be a freezing Christmas, but far from the coldest State College has seen. The record low on Dec. 24 in State College is minus 6, which was set in 1989. The coldest it’s ever gotten Dec. 25 is minus 11 degrees in 1983.

Normal Christmas Day temperatures range from a high of 35 to a low of 22, Tyburski said.