Xmas Week Forecast For The Lower 48: 90s Along Gulf Coast, Pushing 80 In Great Plains States

[hatrack]

Link to tweet

A potentially epic December heat wave is set to blanket much of the contiguous U.S. over the next two weeks, potentially leading several cities and states to set records for the warmest first month of winter on record. The big picture: In a major pattern shift, the jet stream is poised to dive south toward the western U.S., bringing much-needed rains and mountain snows to a parched California and other western states. But to the east of this jet stream dip, or trough, a potentially record strong ridge of high pressure is projected to set up over the Central U.S. This ridge will be responsible for the record warmth, but it's in keeping with trends from human-caused climate change.

The details: December has already been unusually mild in many areas, with Denver and Salt Lake City recording their latest measurable snowfalls on record, and the Houston area tying its hottest recorded temperatures seen for the month on Thursday, when highs reached the mid-to-upper 80s.

The warm weather looks to build starting early next week in the Plains, South Central states, and Gulf Coastal region. The highest temperatures compared to average are likely in the eastern Plains on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with colder air not projected to start pouring in from Canada until Christmas or soon after. Even then, the East Coast is still likely to be unusually mild. There is virtually zero chance of a white Christmas in cities including St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbus, New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and points south.

According to the National Weather Service, some areas may see temperatures running 20°F to 40°F above average for this time of year, as the record strong area of high pressure builds aloft. This high will ensure plenty of sun, sinking air, which helps to increase temperatures through compression.

EDIT

https://www.axios.com/warmest-december-heat-wave-lower-48-states-cbcda0b2-55df-42ca-b5fb-5ff08edbc471.html

[Scrivener7]

1. And the forecasters will comment on the "nice weather"

when, in fact, it's a disaster.

[Haggard Celine]

2. That sucks!

I hate it when we have a warm Christmas. I've been having to run my AC lately. I like winter because I usually have much lower power bills then. It won't be as bad as August, but it will be about $40 more per month than it should be.

[wackadoo wabbit]

3. That's an odd scale. The colors for 13 above and 35 above normal appear to be virtually identical

I guess the scale was developed back when no one could conceive of a time when we'd see temperatures that were greater than 26° above normal.