Record Warmth Continues Wednesday in East, South

Brian Donegan
Published: February 28,2017
Just days after last week's warmth shattered thousands of daily records and over two hundred monthly records, another warm up is breaking dozens of record highs from the Midwest to the East and South into Wednesday.
A southward dip in the jet stream over the West has resulted in the jet stream surging northward into Canada over the eastern U.S. In addition, southerly winds ahead of a cold front are allowing warm air to engulf much of the East.
(MORE: East of the Rockies, Signs of Spring Already Beginning to Pop Up)
Several record highs were tied or broken Tuesday, including in Springfield, Missouri (77 degrees), Shreveport, Louisiana (85 degrees), Tyler, Texas (68 degrees), Jacksonville (87 degrees), Tampa (86 degrees), Scranton, Pennsylvania (64 degrees), and Binghamton, New York (58 degrees).
Below, we'll break down how much temperatures will continue to warm up and where additional record highs may be in jeopardy.

Wednesday

Much of the Midwest will cool down behind a cold front, but temperatures remain generally 5 to 10 degrees above average. The core of the warmth will set up over the East and South, with temperatures over 30 degrees above average in parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
Highs in the 60s will surge northward into upstate New York and southern New England. New York City, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. will easily soar into the 70s. Much of the Southeast will be dominated by temperatures in the 80s, and Jacksonville could be close to 90 degrees.

Forecast Highs Compared to Average Wednesday

Dozens of record highs could be broken Wednesday across the East. This includes (current record in parenthesis): Washington D.C. (77 degrees), Richmond, Virginia (79 degrees), Baltimore (76 degrees), Philadelphia (69 degrees), New York City (69 degrees), Albany, New York (54 degrees), Jacksonville, Florida (84 degrees), Charlotte, North Carolina (76 degrees), and Atlanta (77 degrees).
(MORE: 6 Unusual Things the February Pattern Has Brought)
By late week, temperatures will return to near or just slightly-above average.

How Warm Has This February Been?

The eastern half of the United States has endured one of the warmest streaks of February weather on record. The warmer-than-average temperatures have already broken thousands of records, including over 400 all-time February record highs.
(MORE: As Spring Approaches, Here's When Temperatures Typically Warm Up)
Many locations are currently on track to recording one of their warmest Februaries on record, according to the Southeast Regional Climate Center. This includes Dallas, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Atlanta and Memphis.
Several all-time record-high temperatures for February were set Feb. 11 in Texas, including Midland, Lubbock and Wichita Falls, where highs soared into the 90s. Denver also set a new record-earliest 80-degree day on Feb. 10, breaking the previous record by more than a full month.
(MORE: All-Time February Heat in the Southern Plains)
More recently, from Feb. 17-24, roughly 2,900 daily warm records (record highs and record-warm lows) were set across the U.S. Over 250 all-time February warm records (record highs and record-warm lows) were also set, according to NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information.

Number of warm and cold records set from Feb. 17-24, 2017.
(Data: NOAA/NCEI)

For some cities, February 2017 will end up warmer than an average March, including Buffalo and Rochester, New York.
(MORE: March 2017 Temperature Outlook: Widespread Warmth Expected)

MORE: Winter Storm Quid, February 2017

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