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Record warmth has been a common occurrence around the country this December. As Christmas draws near, the Southeast and south-central United States are likely to continue this legacy with more records likely to be broken.
The week will begin with seasonable temperatures for much of the south-central United States, but the heat will roll in just in time for Christmas Eve and into Christmas as a high-pressure system becomes centered over the Southeast and a storm moves in and spins over the northern Rockies.
“Due to the position of these two systems, very warm air originating from Mexico will be pulled northward into the south-central U.S., leading to the record-breaking weather,” AccuWeather meteorologist Isaac Longley said.
The warm weather will stick around for a couple of days, lasting into Christmas Day across the South Central states with high pressure anchored over the Gulf of Mexico.
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Several cities in the south-central United States experienced their warmest Christmas on record just several years ago. For much of the region, Dec. 25 was warm in both 2015 and 2016 with many records for the date still standing from one of those years, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
On Dec. 25, 2016, Dallas reached 80 degrees, which broke the record for warmest Christmas Day on record in the city.
“Meanwhile, temperatures soared to 76 in Nashville, Tenn., and to 73 in Oklahoma City and set records that same day in 2016,” Sosnowski said. Just a year earlier, in 2015, New Orleans climbed to a record high mark of 82 degrees on Dec. 25, while Houston set a record of 83 and Atlanta established a new Christmas daily record high of 75.
It could once again be time to rewrite the record books in at least some of these locations.
This year, AccuWeather is predicting Dallas to reach 79 degrees on Christmas Day, just one degree shy of the record high. On Christmas Eve, the city is forecast to reach the low 80s. Many other cities may find their Dec. 25 record high in jeopardy this year. Temperatures in Houston and New Orleans may come close to records with highs of 82 and 79 predicted, respectively.
Records are not expected to be broken in Nashville and Atlanta, but highs are forecast to be well into the 60s, which is about 10-15 degrees above average.
“While officially the warmth late this week will stop short of summerlike levels, it may feel that way with temperature departures of 15-25 degrees and even 30 degrees above average, which is more typical of early October in some cases,” Sosnowski said.
Holiday travel could still be impacted despite the forecast of warm and dry weather. The setup will also bring gusty winds along with the dry weather, especially during Christmas Eve. Longley said this combination will bring great concern for fires in addition to dangerous travel conditions.
“The strong winds may also lead to areas of blowing dust, leading to difficult travel at times,” Longley said.
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| This past weekend, record highs, some dating back to more than 100 years were toppled in the south-central United States. Chart courtesy of AccuWeather |
Dangerous fires caused damage to structures in Kansas earlier this month after a dust storm impacted the area. Last week, a fire in the panhandle of Oklahoma caused officials to encourage evacuation of some residents in the city of Guymon.
Several regions of the United States, in addition to the South Central states, have had their fair share of record warmth this month. The Northeast experienced record warmth earlier in December, with April-like temperatures being reported throughout the area. On Dec. 11, New York City, Philadelphia and Buffalo, N.Y., climbed into the mid- to upper 60s, while Washington, D.C., reached 70 the same day. Just last week, temperatures again soared into the 60s in parts of the Northeast on Thursday. Buffalo set a daily record high of 64 degrees. One day later, Washington, D.C., set a daily record high of 65 degrees on Friday.
To start the month, some parts of the Rocky Mountain region experienced warmer weather on Dec. 1 than June 1. Denver hit 73 degrees on Dec. 1 and set a record high in the process. The high on June 1 was only 70. Pueblo, Colo., bettered its June 1 high by one degree on Dec. 1 by hitting 70. In Colorado Springs, Colorado, the high of 69 on Dec. 1 matched the June 1 high.
Record warmth has been a common occurrence around the country this December. As Christmas draws near, the Southeast and south-central United States are likely to continue this legacy with more records likely to be broken. The week will begin with seasonable temperatures for much of the south-central United States, but the heat will roll in just in time for Christmas Eve and into Christmas as a high-pressure system becomes centered over the Southeast and a storm moves in and spins over the northern Rockies. “Due to the position of these two systems, very warm air originating from Mexico will be pulled northward into the south-central U.S., leading to the record-breaking weather,” AccuWeather meteorologist Isaac Longley said. The warm weather will stick around for a couple of days, lasting into Christmas Day across the South Central states with high pressure anchored over the Gulf of Mexico. Several cities in the south-central United States experienced their warmest Christmas on record just several years ago. For much of the region, Dec. 25 was warm in both 2015 and 2016 with many records for the date still standing from one of those years, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. On Dec. 25, 2016, Dallas reached 80 degrees, which broke the record for warmest Christmas Day on record in the city. “Meanwhile, temperatures soared to 76 in Nashville, Tenn., and to 73 in Oklahoma City and set records that same day in 2016,” Sosnowski said. Just a year earlier, in 2015, New Orleans climbed to a record high mark of 82 degrees on Dec. 25, while Houston set a record of 83 and Atlanta established a new Christmas daily record high of 75. It could once again be time to rewrite the record books in at least some of these locations. This year, AccuWeather is predicting Dallas to reach 79 degrees on Christmas Day, just one degree shy of the record high. On Christmas Eve, the city is forecast to reach the low 80s. Many other cities may find their Dec. 25 record high in jeopardy this year. Temperatures in Houston and New Orleans may come close to records with highs of 82 and 79 predicted, respectively. Records are not expected to be broken in Nashville and Atlanta, but highs are forecast to be well into the 60s, which is about 10-15 degrees above average. “While officially the warmth late this week will stop short of summerlike levels, it may feel that way with temperature departures of 15-25 degrees and even 30 degrees above average, which is more typical of early October in some cases,” Sosnowski said. Holiday travel could still be impacted despite the forecast of warm and dry weather. The setup will also bring gusty winds along with the dry weather, especially during Christmas Eve. Longley said this combination will bring great concern for fires in addition to dangerous travel conditions. “The strong winds may also lead to areas of blowing dust, leading to difficult travel at times,” Longley said. This past weekend, record highs, some dating back to more than 100 years were toppled in the south-central United States. Chart courtesy of AccuWeather Dangerous fires caused damage to structures in Kansas earlier this month after a dust storm impacted the area. Last week, a fire in the panhandle of Oklahoma caused officials to encourage evacuation of some residents in the city of Guymon. Several regions of the United States, in addition to the South Central states, have had their fair share of record warmth this month. The Northeast experienced record warmth earlier in December, with April-like temperatures being reported throughout the area. On Dec. 11, New York City, Philadelphia and Buffalo, N.Y., climbed into the mid- to upper 60s, while Washington, D.C., reached 70 the same day. Just last week, temperatures again soared into the 60s in parts of the Northeast on Thursday. Buffalo set a daily record high of 64 degrees. One day later, Washington, D.C., set a daily record high of 65 degrees on Friday. To start the month, some parts of the Rocky Mountain region experienced warmer weather on Dec. 1 than June 1. Denver hit 73 degrees on Dec. 1 and set a record high in the process. The high on June 1 was only 70. Pueblo, Colo., bettered its June 1 high by one degree on Dec. 1 by hitting 70. In Colorado Springs, Colorado, the high of 69 on Dec. 1 matched the June 1 high.