Record-breaking warmth continued to grip much of the East and South over the weekend after a Christmas Eve and Christmas Day that were warmer than any on record for countless cities in those regions. Into midweek, temperatures will remain above average at times in parts of the East, but by later this week we will finally see temperatures trend back to levels more typical of early winter.
It was the warmest Christmas Day on record in New York City, though not many creatures may have been stirring when the new record of 66 degrees was established just 31 minutes after midnight. This followed a record-shattering Christmas Eve that brought the city's warmest daily low temperature ever recorded in the month of December; the low of 63 for Dec. 24 was also warmer than lows on 30 of the 145 Independence Days (July 4) on record in the Big Apple since 1871.
Dozens of other cities established record highs each day since Christmas Eve and many also had daily lows warmer than any previously measured for those dates. The mild weather meant that most areas east of the Rockies did not experience a white Christmas.
Below we have a look at the forecast, followed by perspective on how warm this December has been so far.
Warm Weather Pattern Lingers Into Midweek
Forecast Highs Compared to Average
On Monday, temperatures will stay 10 to 25 degrees above average from the Ohio Valley into the Southeast. Parts of the South will flirt with record highs once again, but the number of records threatened will be much less compared to previous days.
Tuesday through Wednesday, parts of the South, particularly Florida, will continue to flirt with record highs. The Northeast and mid-Atlantic will see one more surge of above-average warmth Tuesday through Thursday before a cooldown arrives for the weekend.
(MORE: Colder Weather Pattern Ahead)
Record Highs Set Christmas Week-Weekend
Here is a look at some of the daily record high temperatures set during Christmas week.Sunday: Atlanta (75 degrees), Cape Hatteras, North Carolina (74 degrees), Charlotte, North Carolina (72 - tie), Chattanooga, Tennessee (76 degrees), Galveston, Texas (74 degrees - tie), Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (59 degrees), Morgantown, West Virginia (72 degrees), Nashville, Tennessee (76 degrees), Philadelphia (65 degrees), Providence, Rhode Island (61 degrees), Raleigh, North Carolina (76 degrees), Savannah, Georgia (80 degrees), Tampa (85 degrees - tie), Wilmington, North Carolina (79 degrees),
Saturday: Fort Myers, Florida (87 degrees), New Orleans, Louisiana (83 degrees), Greenville, Mississippi (81 degrees), El Dorado, Arkansas (80 degrees), Houston, Texas (80 degrees), Memphis, Tennessee (80 degrees), Atlanta, Georgia, (77 degrees), Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (76 degrees), Bowling Green, Kentucky (73 degrees), Huntsville, Alabama (72 degrees), Bluefield, West Virginia (64 degrees)
Christmas Day: Portland, Maine, hit 62 degrees, marking the first time any site in the entire state of Maine has recorded a temperature at or above 60 on Christmas Day.
While Portland may not ultimately be the site that cinches the new record for Maine, it was among several communities that held the previous state record of 57. Portland hit 57 on Christmas Day in 1888, but several other locations hit the 57-degree mark just last Christmas in 2014.
Naples, Florida, hit 89 to not only break its Christmas record but also tie its all-time December record high.
Based on preliminary data, new Christmas Day record highs included Harlingen, Texas (88 degrees); Fort Myers, Florida (87 degrees); Tampa and Orlando (both 86 degrees); Houston (83 degrees); New Orleans (82 degrees), Savannah, Georgia (82 degrees); Jacksonville, Florida (82 degrees); Fayetteville, North Carolina (81 degrees); Augusta, Georgia (81 degrees); Tallahassee, Florida (81 degrees); and North Charleston, South Carolina (80 degrees).
Among cities topping out in the 70s, new Christmas Day records were established at Norfolk, Virginia (79 degrees); Mobile, Alabama (79 degrees), Richmond, Virginia (75 degrees); Atlanta (75 degrees); and Atlantic City International Airport in Pomona, New Jersey (71 degrees).
Highs in the 60s were good enough for new Christmas Day records at New York City (66 degrees); Providence, Rhode Island (64 degrees); and Concord, New Hampshire (62 degrees). Philadelphia tied its Christmas Day record high of 68.
In addition to all the record highs set, a few locations broke records for the warmest low temperature for the entire month of December on Christmas Day. This includes Key West (79 degrees); Elizabeth City, North Carolina (68 degrees); and Salisbury, Maryland (65 degrees). West Palm Beach, Florida (78 degrees) and Fort Lauderdale, Florida (78 degrees) tied their records for warmest low temperatures for the month.
Christmas Eve: Albany, New York, soared to 72 degrees to set an all-time high for all of meteorological winter, which runs from the start of December through the end of February. It beat the winter record of 71 last set Jan. 6, 2007, and the December record of 71 set Dec. 29, 1984.
Burlington, Vermont set a new all-time record high for December (68 degrees); this also beat the daily record high temperature by an astonishing 17 degrees. Norfolk, Virginia, also set a new all-time December record with a high of 82.
Daily record highs included Columbia, South Carolina (74 degrees); New York City (72 degrees); Philadelphia (71 degrees); Boston (69 degrees); Hartford, Connecticut (69 degrees); Providence, Rhode Island (69 degrees); Syracuse, New York (68 degrees); and Worcester, Massachusetts (65 degrees).
Records for the warmest low temperature in the month of December were set at New York City (63 degrees), Philadelphia (62 degrees) and Washington, D.C. (60 at Reagan National Airport), among others.
Wednesday: Buffalo (61 degrees); Cleveland (64 degrees); Detroit (58 degrees); Pittsburgh (64 degrees); Indianapolis (64 degrees - tie); Milwaukee (58 degrees); Muskegon, Michigan (62 degrees); Moline, Illinois (60 degrees); Tallahassee, Florida (82 degrees - tie); Traverse City, Michigan (57 degrees);
Tuesday: Nashville (70 degrees); Memphis (70 degrees tied).
Monday: St. Louis (67 degrees tied); West Plains, Missouri (69 degrees); Springfield, Illinois (64 degrees); Peoria, Illinois (60 degrees tied); Naples, Florida (87 degrees tied).
December Record Warmth So Far
According to preliminary data from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), at least 3,164 record daily highs were tied or broken across the U.S. during the first 24 days of December. An additional 4,511 record-warm daily low temperatures have been set during the same time period.By comparison, just 147 daily record lows and 147 additional record cool highs were set in the same time frame.
Record Temperature Tracker
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