An unseasonal warmup is bringing record high temperatures across the United States
Much of the country will end February with temperatures significantly higher with temperatures ranging between 20 and 35 degrees above normal. By midweek, hundreds of daily temperature records could arrive from the southwest or northeast.
An unseasonable warm spell will continue to spread across much of the United States this week, with high temperatures from Texas to the Midwest looking more like May than the end of winter weather.
Hundreds of record temperatures — record highs and warm lows — are expected to fall through the middle of the week, and Monday and Tuesday are expected to be the warmest days in the Plains and Midwest. On Monday, more than 250 million Americans will see above-average temperatures.
“This warmth is already starting to build today across the middle tier of the country, and is continuing to shift eastward around Tuesday,” said FOX Meteorologist Jane Minnaar.
Temperatures can be more typical at the end of May in cities like Omaha, Nebraska, and Indianapolis, with highs in the 60s and 70s. The temperature is expected to reach 68 degrees on Tuesday in Chicago. This warm air will help fuel the severe weather threat in the Midwest.
In the Southern Plains, temperatures will skip spring and shift straight into summer heat, with highs in the 80s and 90s in Texas and Oklahoma.
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More than fifty daily record lows are expected to fall on Monday from Texas through North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Dozens of daily records could be set again Tuesday from Texas to the Great Lakes.
Some of the highest temperatures in the United States on Sunday were in Texas, and those temperatures will continue to rise through Tuesday.
The highest temperature expected Sunday in Dallas is 86 degrees with a jump to 93 degrees on Monday. Forecasters with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth expect a high risk of grass fires early in the week due to unseasonably warm temperatures and low relative humidity of about 15%.
When combined with the expected number of record highs and record warm lows, more than 300 record temperatures could be matched or broken between Monday and Wednesday.
There's also the potential for record-breaking events across the Northeast on Wednesday before a powerful cross-country storm blows through the region.
These warm temperatures will ensure that cities from Minnesota to Maine will record one of the ten warmest winters on record.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, record warm lows will likely exceed record highs because low temperatures early this week will be warmer than average highs for this time of year.
Temperature fluctuation is possible
By late week, cold temperatures will return as a cold front carrying the storm across the country will bring temperatures down. This front will bring a sharp temperature swing to millions.
A cross-country storm could bring blizzard conditions in the western mountains and severe weather in the Midwest this week
“While this warmth is rapidly increasing, and we expect record records through around Tuesday and Wednesday, we are getting a sharp reminder once the storm moves in that, yes, it is still winter, and we still need coats,” Menard said. .
During the second half of the week, The Fox Forecast Center said temperatures will move from 20-30 degrees above average to 10-20 degrees below average. This temperature swing will also come with high winds. In parts of the northern tier, temperatures may drop below zero by Wednesday.
The country will then be divided by unusual warmth in the south and cold temperatures in the north. However, the FOX Forecast Center is tracking a long-range forecast that would allow for warmth to return across the country in the first full week of March.
