By Brett Rathbun, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist
December 14,2015; 11:18AM,EST
Warmth built across much of the eastern United States this past weekend, breaking record highs dating back to the 1800s.
Clouds and Mild Weather Turn South
Dozens of high temperature records were broken from the Midwest to the South to the Northeast this past Saturday and Sunday.
In many cases, the overnight low temperatures were higher than the average high for the date and also set records.
A persistent weather pattern led to a surge of mild air across the eastern United States.
"The warmth in the East last weekend was set up by a very strong jet stream that lifted well north of the eastern United States," AccuWeather Meteorologist Evan Duffey said.
The jet stream is a narrow zone of strong winds in the upper levels of the atmosphere that helps to steer weather patterns. The jet stream also tends to separate the cold air to its north and warm air to its south.
High pressure over the southwest Atlantic Ocean generated southerly winds over the weekend, pumping in warm air from the equatorial region across the East.
A stretch of sunny and dry conditions also contributed to temperatures rising to record values.
An east wind across portions of New England, including Boston, allowed temperatures to stay below record values. Regardless, high temperatures were still 10-20 degrees above average.
The lack of a snowpack allowed temperatures to rise quickly during the daytime.
The lack of any winterlike chill across the East has not been uncommon for the past couple of months. The month of November was one of the warmest months on record for many Eastern cities.
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Through the first half of December, temperatures from the Atlantic Seaboard to the Plains have averaged above normal for the month. Some locations are close to 20 degrees above normal for the month.
Temperatures in International Falls, Minnesota, averaged about 19 degrees above average for the month through Dec. 13. The city has had only one day with a high temperature below 32 F and only three days with a low temperature in the teens. High temperatures are typically in the low 20s with overnight low temperatures in the single digits.
A mild week will keep temperature departures well above normal through the third week of December.
"Until the jet stream sinks to the south, temperatures will remain well above normal," Duffey said.
While temperatures will lower slightly for much of this week, the first true taste of winter will build across the region late this week and into the weekend.
The first true shot of winterlike air will advance from the Plains on Thursday to the East Coast into the weekend.
Temperatures across much of the East will be slightly below normal for the weekend. However, that episode of cold weather will be very brief.
According to AccuWeather Chief Long Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok, another big surge of warmth is in store for the week of Christmas in the eastern U.S., despite winter's official arrival on Tuesday, Dec. 22.
"A number of locations in the East could be looking at highs well into the 60s to near 70 on Christmas Day," Pastelok said.
Much like November, this month is on track to be one of the warmest Decembers on record in the Eastern states.
Content contributed by AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
Andrew Zack Junior ·
I
mean we might not get a white holiday but we will get a very snowy
early 2016 simular to the 2014-15 winter where we wher slamed by huge
snow in February untel early April
Andrew Zack Junior ·
Its
official Winter will start late January we will get our first snow
during the second or third week of January falowed by a below normal
Freezing temps in big snow stormes in late February and witch means that
we will have below Average temps this coming spring will still have
snow on the groud in early March 2016. Here in the east we might get a
White Holiday but i think the we will get know late this Winter.
Neven Prvinic ·
As
of today we are also running about 10F above normal for the 14 day
period (or about 13F above for the month) here in Cleveland, OH,
averaging so far high of 53F and low of 39F. This by the way is exactly
2F warmer then our normal November is, and not to overlook that we are
still waiting for our first snow in the city (some higher elevation
hills in the snowbelt east of the city did already have a light snow
once).
Eric Bailey ·
I
am not a fan of Record Breaking Warmth in December. It is the craziest,
and worst December i've ever seen. I prefer colder weather because it
lets me to do indoor stuff like old school bowling nights, malls, sports
bars, indoor ice rinks and breweries.
Michael Carenza Jr. ·
People were mowing their lawns this weekend in my area. Very unusual.
A while back I joked on here that I will be mowing my lawn until New Years. Might not be a joke anymore.
A while back I joked on here that I will be mowing my lawn until New Years. Might not be a joke anymore.
This has been one of the best December's ever in the East!
Cory,
Our 70F on Saturday is now the lastest 70F or higher in the calendar
year beating 71F on 12/6/1998. There are now 6 days in December with
records over 70F, with 12/3/1982 at 77F being the highest. The earliest
70F of the calendar year is January 14th, with 4 days with records at
70F or above that month, with the highest ever being 73F on 1/25/1950.
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