Current:Home > InvestWarm weather brings brings a taste of spring to central and western United States-InfoLens
Warm weather brings brings a taste of spring to central and western United States
View Date:2024-12-23 10:27:07
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A warm front swept springlike weather across a large swath of the country Sunday in what is usually one of the coldest months of the year, sending people out of their homes to enjoy the rare winter respite but also bringing increased wildfire danger.
In Omaha, Nebraska, the temperature Sunday broke 65 degrees (18.3 degrees Celsius) on a day when the average high temperature is around the freezing mark, according to the National Weather Service.
“Omaha is having its second warmest February on record in its 154-year history of tracking weather,” National Weather Service meteorologist Michaela Wood said Sunday. “And there’s a chance of beating the record yet tomorrow, when we’re looking at a high temperature of around 80.”
The sunny warmth brought Stacy Lawson, and her husband, Hugh Lawson, of Omaha, outside for a game of pickleball with friends. But they weren’t the only ones.
“Outdoor courts are prime real estate when it’s warm,” Stacy Lawson said. “The first one we tried was already filled.”
The Lawsons and their competitors, Tim and Andrea Driscoll, had a hard time remembering the last year they were able to play outside in February.
“In Nebraska, February is both the shortest and longest month of the year,” Tim Driscoll deadpanned.
While the warmer-than-usual temperatures may have provided a break from harsh winter conditions, it didn’t come without some concerns. The National Weather Service cited the warmth, along with low humidity, winds gusting more than 35 mph (56 kph) in places, and dry winter vegetation in issuing fire danger alerts in an area stretching across parts of 11 states.
Red flag warnings and fire weather watches were issued in parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, up to Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and east to Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. Nearby states, including parts of Arkansas, Minnesota and Wisconsin, were issued hazardous weather outlooks because of an increased fire danger, according to weather service maps.
A grassfire whipped up by high winds closed Interstate 25 near the Colorado-Wyoming border for about an hour Saturday before it was extinguished, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol.
The unusually early warm spell could telegraph trouble ahead, Wood said. The Climate Prediction Center says there is an elevated chance of higher-than-normal temperatures and lower-than-normal rain for the region through the end of summer.
“If we keep going in this trend, we could go back into a drought, and that would be a big concern — especially when it comes to fire risk,” she said.
Temperatures reached into the 60s in Denver, Chicago and Des Moines, Iowa, on Sunday, and Kansas City, Missouri, saw temperatures in the mid-70s. The unseasonably warm conditions saw plenty of people heading outdoors to play in local parks, wash their cars and even get an early jump on lawn care.
In Chicago, people who would normally be in winter gear to fight off the city’s famously bitter winter winds instead frolicked around Lake Michigan’s shores in light jackets or even shorts and T-shirts.
Bethany Scheiner, 53, took advantage of the weather to head with her 14-year-old son to Lincoln Park in Chicago so he could practice his football punting skills.
“It’s so unusual,” Scheiner said of the warm weather. “I mean, this is the month we all go away to get away from the Chicago winter.”
The warmup is expected to bring some record-breaking high temperatures Monday, Wood said. But by Tuesday night, a cold front will drop the region back into winter, with wind chills below zero and snow in much of the central part of the country by Wednesday.
veryGood! (97835)
Related
- NBPA reaches Kyle Singler’s family after cryptic Instagram video draws concern
- 'Outer Range': Josh Brolin interview teases release date for Season 2 of mystery thriller
- What does a total solar eclipse look like? Photos from past events show what to expect in 2024
- Survivors of recent mass shootings revive calls for federal assault weapons ban, 20 years later
- Sister Wives’ Meri Brown Shares Hysterical Farmers Only Dating Profile Video After Kody Split
- Kansas City tries to recover after mass shooting at Super Bowl celebration
- 'Making HER-STORY': Angel Reese, Tom Brady, more react to Caitlin Clark breaking NCAA scoring record
- Chase Elliott, NASCAR's most popular driver, enters 2024 optimistic about bounce-back year
- Jennifer Hudson, Kylie Minogue and Billy Porter to perform at Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade
- Robert Hur, special counsel in Biden documents case, to testify before Congress on March 12
Ranking
- Does your dog have arthritis? A lot of them do. But treatment can be tricky
- How an OnlyFans mom's ads got 9 kids got expelled from Florida private Christian school
- Women are breaking Brazil's 'bate bola' carnival mold
- Watch Live: Fulton County prosecutors decline to call Fani Willis to return for questioning
- Eva Longoria Shares She and Her Family Have Moved Out of the United States
- How ageism against Biden and Trump puts older folks at risk
- You could save the next Sweetpea: How to adopt from the Puppy Bowl star's rescue
- After feud, Mike Epps and Shannon Sharpe meet in person: 'I showed him love'
Recommendation
-
Powerball winning numbers for Nov. 9 drawing: Jackpot rises to $92 million
-
Sterling K. Brown recommends taking it 'moment to moment,' on screen and in life
-
Facebook chirping sound is a bug not a new update. Here's how to stop it now.
-
'Making HER-STORY': Angel Reese, Tom Brady, more react to Caitlin Clark breaking NCAA scoring record
-
Jennifer Lopez Turns Wicked Premiere Into Family Outing With 16-Year-Old Emme
-
A $355 million penalty and business ban: Takeaways from Trump’s New York civil fraud verdict
-
The Daily Money: Reinventing the financial aid form
-
Pennsylvania high court takes up challenge to the state’s life-without-parole sentences