Extreme Heat and Excessive Rainfall This Week

A significant heat wave continues for the Rockies, Northern Plains, and Great Lakes into the Mid-Atlantic, peaking in intensity through midweek and lingering across parts of the Northern Plains and Midwest until this weekend. Excessive rainfall my bring life-threatening and locally catastrophic flash and urban flooding across portions of southwestern Texas through early Friday. Read More >

Summary infographic of the warm stretch

What is Noteworthy About This? While 50s and even 60s certainly do happen in December, this prolonged duration was particularly noteworthy because it was accompanied with a great deal of sunshine and occurred late in the month (more rare) and overlapped the Christmas holiday.

Why So Warm? The weather pattern for several weeks had generally been a mild one. In fact December 2019 has only had five days with below normal temperatures in Chicago. The pattern has also been notably drier than much of the autumn was. The drier pattern has resulted in well below normal snowfall for December, and without snow on the ground locking in colder air, any cold surge has been temporary. Finally, southerly winds were dominant for days, resulting in inching up temperatures, and the sunny pattern (helped by lack of snow cover in the region), further resulted in warming.

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Extreme Heat and Excessive Rainfall This Week

Late December 2019 Warmth