Record-Breaking February Heat Wave Hits Southern U.S.—As D.C. Could Break 150-Year-Old Record

Topline

It’s still winter on the calendar, but temperatures across much of the South and Mid-Atlantic are more in line with late spring or early summer, as a robust heat wave pushes highs across the region into the 80s, even as the western U.S. is pummeled with historic snowfall.

Temperatures across the Southeast feel more like late spring or even early summer rather than … [+] February.

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Key Facts

Washington, D.C., is expected to hit 79 degrees Thursday, which would break the February 23 record of 78 set in 1874.

If the nation’s capital manages to climb to 80, it would be the second-earliest in the year that mark has been reached, after hitting 80 on February 21 in 2018.

Atlanta hit 81 degrees on Wednesday—an all-time record high for February and the hottest temperature ever recorded in the city during the winter season.

Nashville, Tennessee, rose to 84 degrees Thursday afternoon, tying its hottest-ever February temperature, after it hit 80 on Wednesday, which broke a daily record that had stood for 127 years.

Orlando, Florida, is forecast to reach 89 degrees Thursday—just one degree shy of the all-time February record—while numerous other central Florida weather stations may also report record-breaking heat.

Charlotte, North Carolina, is expected to reach 80 degrees Thursday—setting a new daily record and falling just short of February’s all-time record of 82—while Raleigh was already at 83 by 3:30 p.m. Friday, breaking the daily record and closing in on February’s all-time record of 84 there.

Big Number

101 degrees. That’s what the mercury reached in Falcon Lake, Texas, on Wednesday, marking the first triple-digit reading in the U.S. this year, according to climatologist Maximiliano Herrera.

Contra

Nearly unprecedented snowfall totals have buried parts of the West over the past few days, leading to treacherous roadways and more than 10,000 flight delays. The 10.8 inches of snow that fell in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday was the second-most ever recorded on a single day in the city’s history, while the National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for southern California mountains for the first time since 1989, due to several feet of snow at high elevations. The powerful storm even reportedly caused snow dusting around the Hollywood sign and brought flurries to Las Vegas.

Key Background

The radically divergent patterns between the southeastern U.S. and the West is due to a dip in the jet stream—a band of powerful upper-level winds that greatly influence the weather. The significant drop in the jet stream across the West and upper Midwest plunged the regions into a historic cold snap, while a tropical airmass was able to funnel into the southeastern United States. The impacts of climate change now loom over extreme weather events, as experts warn the phenomenon is already affecting weather systems.

What To Watch For

Temperatures are expected to moderate across the Southeast later this week due to a passing cold front, but the National Weather Service warned: “many areas of the Mid-South, Southeast, and Gulf Coast will continue to see above normal temperatures heading through the weekend.”