Mid-Winter Thaw Brings Record Breaking Temperatures Next Couple Days
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The start of 2018 was extremely cold with the first week of January seeing temperatures that stayed well below normal and even below freezing for quite some time.
As the month wore on though we eventually evened things out and we actually ended the month of January with a temperature average that was pretty much right on par with where we should have been for the month. One of the reasons we were able to balance out the cold start to the month was due to the warmer air that worked in toward the end of the month and that warm air has continued to settle over the region for a lot of February as well. These thawing temperatures are kicking up into high gear this week, as record warmth could move into the region starting today and we could get even warmer tomorrow, with the Spring-like conditions hanging on all the way into the coming weekend.
As we dive into the warm air across the region for Tuesday and Wednesday we need to talk about the warm front that passed through on Monday. It brought with it the rain showers that popped up from time to time but it also allowed a southwest wind to take over, bringing in a lot of warm air from the southern parts of US where temperature today could reach the 80s! While it will not be in the 80s in Philly today, we should still rocket into the lower 70s across the area, even without a lot of sunshine on Tuesday afternoon we still hit a high of 71° which would just surpass the old record of 70° set way back in 1939.
It's not just in Philly where the warm air will be very intense but across the entire region and we could be looking to break record highs all the way from the Poconos to down the Jersey Shore this afternoon. The warm air isn't going anywhere for Wednesday either. The southwest winds remain strong enough that lows tonight might not even drop out of the middle 50s. When you add in the fact that on Wednesday we could see even more sunshine than we will be getting this afternoon, temperatures are going to be even warmer. Philly tomorrow could reach as high 75° which would plow past the old record of 72° set in 1930! We will once again keep an eye on all temperatures across the region for the potential to break records once again tomorrow.
Even before adding in the potential for record-breaking temperatures today and tomorrow that would be 20°-30° higher than normal February in Philadelphia is already shaping up to possibly be a top 10 warmest month on record. The average high temperature for the city so far this month is already 3.5° warmer than normal and by the end of month based on some model projections we could end the month as high as 5°+ above average.
The rest of the week after the record warmth, we will see a quick cool down on Thursday before the mild air makes its return and highs over the weekend could once more push all the way into the lower 60s.
