Record-Challenging Warmth to Build in Eastern US

By Brett Rathbun, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist

December 8,2015; 10:52PM,EST

 

 

Progressively milder air will surge across the eastern United States through this weekend, continuing to keep winterlike air at bay.
While the mildest air will hold off until this weekend, much of this week will be mostly rain-free and see above normal temperatures.
High temperatures through Friday will average between 5 and 10 degrees above average for the second week of December.

Buffalo, New York, Breaks Surprising Weather Record

Most days this week will also feature at least partial sunshine.
The only potential travel problem will be areas of dense fog during the morning hours that may linger into the middle of the day. The fog will be most common west of Interstate 95.
A couple weak storm systems will pass across the Midwest and Northeast during the week with only spotty showers.

Conditions will be fantastic for anyone still needing to head to a local farm and purchase a Christmas tree or to hang holiday decorations outside your home.
"The pattern won't just be mild this week, but getting progressively milder into the weekend," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Joe Lundberg said.
By this weekend, the jet stream will lift to the north into southern Canada allowing warm air to build across the eastern U.S. from the Gulf of Mexico and the southern Plains.
RELATED:
US Winter Forecast: Northeast to Dodge Winter's Brutal Cold
El Nino-Driven Weather Pattern to Shape White Christmas Likelihood Across US
Eastern US to Remain Mild as El Nino Keeps the Polar Vortex at Bay This Winter
The jet stream is a narrow band of strong winds in the upper levels of the atmosphere that help to separate the milder air to the south and the cooler air to the north.
Temperatures will be between 10 and 30 degrees above normal this weekend from the Midwest to the Northeast and interior South.

High temperatures by Saturday will be from the 40s Fahrenheit across northern New England to the 50s from southern New England into Michigan, 60s across the mid-Atlantic, Ohio Valley and Tennessee Valley and 70s across the Gulf Coast states.
Records will be challenged across a large portion of the East this weekend including New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, Detroit, Nashville and Louisville, Kentucky.
Temperatures in parts of the East could challenge records established as far back as the middle 1800s during the weekend.
"To put into perspective how mild it will be, overnight low temperatures will be higher than the average daytime high temperature for this time of year," AccuWeather Meteorologist Michael Doll said.
These temperatures are more common during the middle of October rather than the second full week of December.
The weekend burst of warmth will be short-lived as a storm lashes the Central states with flooding, severe weather and snow. The storm will push a swath of chillier air eastward during early next week.
Snow lovers may have to wait until the new year for any significant snow across the eastern U.S.El Niño is to blame for the lack of snow.
While the month of November ended as one of the warmest months on record for many cities across the East, the same could happen in December.