Record Warmth Across Nation

Flowers in bloom. Courtesy of Photos.com

Mar 14, 2012; 6:05 AM ET

Temperature records continue to be shattered across the eastern two-thirds of the nation as the springlike warmth bulges eastward.

Record-Challenging Warmth East of the Rockies

Residents from Dallas, Texas, to International Falls, Minn., to New York, N.Y., can put away the winter jackets for the week. Temperatures will soar into the 60s as far north as the U.S.-Canadian border with 70s creeping into the New York City area.

The only downside to the weather this week across the eastern two-thirds of the nation will be some rain showers and thunderstorms that pop up across the southern Plains and Great Lakes late today and tonight.

In fact, some thunderstorms across portions of the Great Lakes could produce hail and gusty winds.

Another fly-in-the-ointment will be a backdoor cold front that slowly pushes into the Northeast today, which will bring cooler weather to northern parts of the region today into Friday.

Locations from Boston northward will experience cool weather for the end of the week. Northeast flow off the chilly Atlantic Ocean will lead to temperatures in the 40s and 50s. In areas farther south, a southerly or southwesterly breeze will provide balmy and unseasonably warm weather.

By the weekend, residents of the entire Northeast should be able to enjoy the springlike warmth.

 

A backdoor front will put a damper on the warming trend in the Northeast from the middle to end of the week.

A large area of high pressure stationed near the East Coast will continue to pump warm air northward through the week.

With high temperatures reaching into the 60s and 70s, many locations will be 10-25 degrees above normal.

In general, places farther north will have the largest departures from normal. For example, the normal high for International Falls, Minn., is in the low 30s. High temperatures this week are expected to climb near 60 degrees, almost 30 degrees above average!

People living in New York City would typically see temperatures near 50 in mid-March. Instead, they will experience temperatures near 70.

Even in places across the Plains, temperatures will climb to near record levels. Kansas City, Mo., is forecast to challenge record highs near 80 degrees all week.

 

Above average warmth will spread north and east throughout the week as high pressure builds.

The abnormal warmth is expected to continue at least into the early part of next week and possibly beyond. While most places east of the Rockies will have warmer-than-normal temperatures, the largest difference from normal should be found in the northern Plains and Upper Midwest.

Records Shattered Monday, Tuesday

Numerous temperature records continued to be broken across the country on Monday as the warmth spread 

 eastward. Locations from Florida to North Dakota to Maine experienced record warmth.

A list of some of the notable high temperature records from Monday:

City, State	New Record	Old Record, Year
New York, N.Y.	71 degrees	71, 1890 (tie)
Boston, Mass.	71 degrees	69, 1902
Syracuse, N.Y.	68 degrees	67, 1977
Bangor, Maine	62 degrees	56, 1927
Grand Forks, N.D.	56 degrees	53, 1964 and 2002
Sarasota, Fla.	86 degrees	86, 1997 (tie)
St. Louis, Mo.	84 degrees	84, 1972 and 1990 (tie)

A list of some of the notable high temperature records from Tuesday:

City, State	New Record	Old Record, Year
Springfield, Mo.	82 degrees	82, 1918 and 1967 (tie)
Sioux City, Iowa	81 degrees	74, 1946
Omaha, Neb.	81 degrees	80, 2007
Albany, N.Y.	70 degrees	70, 1946 (tie)
Minneapolis, Minn.	67 degrees	66, 2007
Grand Forks, N.D.	59 degrees	51, 1945
Concord, N.H.	71 degrees	69, 1990

Record Warmth Across Nation