Record warmth is fueling soaring temperatures nationwide as nearly 250 million people will experience above-average temperatures by Thursday.
High temperatures are 10 to as much as 25 degrees above average for this time of year, the FOX Forecast Center said. This will translate to highs in the 40s, 50s and even 60s. It’ll be so warm that many places will see their overnight lows stay warmer than their average high temperatures for this time of year.
“When you’re starting off the day with temperatures already above average, you’re going to end the afternoon way above that,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Michael Estime said. “So it feels more like March as opposed to late January. For some spots, it feels closer to May.”
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By the end of the week, nearly 75% of the U.S. will be experiencing above-average temperatures.
After record temperatures last weekend across the West, the warmup has spread east into the Plains, where temperatures will reach the 50s, 60s and even 70s.
While it won’t be warm enough to set many records in the Plains, the above-average warmth will be enough to melt away any leftover snow from snowstorms over the past few weeks. By the end of the week, nearly all the snow is expected to be melted away.
However, in the West, nearly 40 record highs were set on Monday, and numerous record-high temperatures will likely be set again on Tuesday.
Notable cities where records are in jeopardy include Seattle in Washington, San Francisco, Sacramento and Fresno in California, Boise in Idaho and Billings in Montana.
Starting Thursday, the above-average temperatures will expand to the Northeast while the West cools off under the influence of the rain and clouds brought in by the Pineapple Express.
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The central states will continue enjoying above-average temperatures into this weekend.
“This heat is not just a quick one-day sort of situation,” Estime said. “This is going to be today. It’s going to be through the day (Tuesday), tomorrow (Wednesday) and into Thursday. I think we will start to see a little breakdown in our ridge by the time we get to Friday and into this upcoming weekend.”
A word of caution: Winter is not over yet, and it appears winter’s chill will return in February.