Bridget Dowd/KJZZ

Rain hits Tempe on Dec. 25, 2019.

It will be a white Christmas at higher elevations in Arizona — and a wet one everywhere else.

That means the weather outside may be frightful in northern and eastern Arizona as the National Weather Service has issued a weather advisory. 

Instead of snow, rain is forecast for Christmas in the Phoenix area — something that hasn’t happened in more than a decade. The wetter weather is expected to also make this one of the colder holidays in recent years.

Meteorologist Matt Pace, who tracks weather for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, joined The Show to talk about the rare holiday weather.