Southern U.S. Gets A Break With Early February Record-Smashing Warmth. Won't Last Forever, Though.

Chart from Pivotal Weather shows a "heat dome"
over the southern and central U.S. that has helped
cause widespread record high temperatures
across the southern half of the United States
from Utah to the Carolinas. 

 While we hear in Vermont and most of the northern United States continue to slog through winter, most of the southern U.S. is experiencing an early taste of spring. Or in some cases, summer. 

At least 80 cities mostly but not exclusively in the southwestern United States experienced record highs Monday. 

Faith Ranch, Texas roasted in a summery 93 degree high temperature Monday. Lubbock, Texas was not far behind with 91 degrees. That tied the record for the hottest winter reading on record.

Grand Junction, Colorado also had its hottest winter day, as they got up to 71 degrees. Amarillo, Texas reached a toasty 89 degrees, breaking the record for the date by a big eight degrees. 

Other record highs Monday included 86 in Phoenix, 84 in Oklahoma City, 83 in Houston, 80 in Las Vegas and 70 degrees in Cincinnati.

On Tuesday Salt Lake City reached 69 degrees on Tuesday, tying the record for the hottest February day on record.  Since the month is usually warmer toward the end, you'd expect a monthly record high to be set on the closing days of the month. 

Salt Lake City also had a low temperature Tuesday of 59, the warmest low temperature of any date in February.  Tuesday was also Salt Lake City's third consecutive record high.

Like on Monday, record highs were widespread across the South and parts of the Rocky Mountains on Tuesday. Among those record highs were 57 in Laramie, Wyoming; 82 in Beaumont, Texas; 80 in both Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina, and 81 in Greenville-Spartensburg, North Carolina, which also tied the record high for the entire month of February. 

More record highs are expected across the southern half of the United States over the next few days. 

This is a huge turn around from the record snows and cold that hit the Deep South on January 21 and 22. New Iberia, Louisiana, which set an all time record low of 3 above on January 22 is anticipating a humid week through Sunday with highs in the upper 70s to near 80, which are near daily record highs. Overnight readings there should in the low 60s. 

Near record highs are also anticipated in New Orleans this week, a city that received an unprecedented eight inches of snow on January 21 .

The southern warmth has been driven by a storm track that has gone from California east northeast to near New England. The storms have helped brought warmth northward, and helped establish an out-of-season heat dome in the South. 

Anyone north and west of the storm track is missing out on the warmth, which is why it hasn't been particularly mild here in Vermont. 

It is still winter, so the record warmth will slowly become more and more suppressed to the south and east as we go through the next week to ten days. By a week and a half from, chances are the only spot in the continental United States that will be oddly warm is Florida and maybe places like Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama.