9:50 AM (Friday) | *Record-setting cold in Alaska as the week closes out…cold air outbreaks destined to reach the central and eastern US in about ten days or so*
Paul Dorian
Record-breaking cold in Alaska today with 850 mb temperature anomaly forecast map for midday; map courtesy NOAA, tropicaltidbits.com
Overview
When Alaska is colder-than-normal this time of year, chances are that the central and eastern US are warmer-than-normal mainly due to the typical wintertime distance between upper-level troughs and ridges across the Northern Hemisphere. Indeed, record lows temperatures of around 55 degrees below zero have struck Alaska at the same time places like Chicago, IL enjoyed some of the warmest weather ever around the Christmas holiday. Some of the cold air that has been bottled up over Alaska and Siberia in recent days may make a push into the central and eastern US in ten days or so.
A record low of -56 deg F was already set today in Bettles, Alaska as the current extreme cold wave continues; table courtesy Ryan Maue twitter, NOAA
Details
Of course, it’s not unusual for Alaska to experience some bitter cold air this time of year, but even by their standards, this current air mass is quite extreme. Bettles, Alaska, for example, has already set a record low for today, December 27th, when the temperature dropped to -56 deg F – and it could go even lower. A record low was of -55 deg F was set on Thursday, December 26th breaking the prior record low for the date set in 1954. This type of extreme cold is likely to continue through the weekend in Alaska with some moderation in temperatures coming early next week.
Warmer-than-normal conditions are likely to continue for awhile longer in the central and eastern US; map courtesy NOAA, tropicaltidbits.com
Meanwhile, Chicago, IL had its second warmest Christmas Day ever recorded with a high of 57 deg F on Wednesday. Chicagoans were seen at parks and on the beach on Christmas Day enjoying the unusual warmth for this time of year. On the day after Christmas, a record high of 61 degrees was set in Chicago – breaking the prior record of 55 degrees set back in 1971. Temperatures there should reach the 50’s today and Saturday which would be only ninth time since 1871 that there has been a stretch of more than five consecutive days in December during which temperatures reached the 50s.
Colder-than-normal conditions are likely in the central and eastern US in about ten days or so; map courtesy NOAA, tropicaltidbits.com
Looking ahead, there are signs for quite a turnaround in temperatures to come to the central and eastern US during the first half of January. A couple of cold air outbreaks are destined to drop southeast from Canada and into this part of the nation in about ten days or so. The 850 mb temperature anomaly map averaged over the current 5-day period shows well above normal throughout the central and eastern US, but there is quite a dramatic change for the average in days 10-14 (January 5 - January 10). It is a bit too early to tell if these coming cold air outbreaks will be the beginning of a sustained colder-than-normal period of weather in the central and eastern US or just temporary breaks in the milder pattern of late. For snow lovers, this expected turnaround in temperatures in the eastern half of the nation does raise some hope as it will likely come in a relatively stormy overall pattern.
Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Perspecta, Inc.
perspectaweather.com