It is one thing for freezing temperatures and snow in the high plains states but a massive cross-country winter storm could put even the hardiest Minnesotans on edge with record snowfall piling two feet high Wednesday and Thursday.
Dangerous driving conditions with ice and snow will stretch from coast to coast along a storm path totaling 2,600 miles across the northern tier of the nation. Even Southern California is under a blizzard warning - it’s first since 2005. Wind will blow the snow throughout the San Bernardino mountains resulting in whiteout conditions Thursday.
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Many areas from the Pacific Northwest to the Midwest will see record-low temperatures on Thursday night and Friday morning as temperatures plunge below freezing.
While half the nation gets socked with snow the heat is blasting the Southeast.
An area of high pressure settled across the Southeast is pulling late spring-like warmth over Florida.
In Jacksonville, for example, Thursday’s forecast high temperature of 88 degrees will challenge its record of 85 degrees in 1964. The warmth continues through the weekend potentially upsetting a record set just last year when the high reached 87 degrees Saturday.
February may end with multiple days of above-average temperatures in the 90s over central Florida and hundreds of cities surpassing previous hot records from the Southeast to the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic.
Long range models show no signs of temperature falling below average, which for us in Duval is the low 70s this time of year. The pattern may not break until the second week of March. While the cooldown may arrive in time for the Players, the early arrival of heat is here to stay and will keep the area very dry.
What is driving the Extremes?
To understand how record cold and warmth coexist at once across the country we need to look at how warm air over Florida is moving.