Severe storms took the headlines on December 23 as 27 tornadoes were reported with at least 7 people killed. Most of the action was across the Mississippi River Valley, with one tornado between Mississippi and Tennessee on the ground for 150 miles. That itself is impressive since most twisters usually last for 20 minutes or less. As the National Weather Service investigates the damage today, if this holds true, it would be the longest track for a December tornado on record.
Record Heat: Baltimore’s BWI already hit 68°F this morning before sunrise. That breaks the old Christmas Eve record of 65°F set in 1990. Temps will climb into the 70s this afternoon. Perhaps another record as the warm air lasts through the weekend.
While the energy is less intense today, there will be more storms charging east along with the record heat. But the threat is only marginal that any storm could turn severe (damaging winds over 58 mph, large hail over 1 inch, or producing a tornado). This does include our region in the Mid Atlantic:
Rain Timeline:
Storms this morning, perhaps more later this evening.
Pattern Change:
We have record heat already an may have another record this weekend with the warm air lasting through Sunday. But a pattern change is on the horizon. The jet stream will flip over next week back to a cold pattern for the eastern US by New Years.
Faith in the Flakes: It looks like all those teachers with new ‘gear’ will have it handy when they return to school January 4th. Here is the look showing hope for snow lovers. I am not touching on the potential for a storm yet, but we need the cold air in place first and it looks like we will have it.
Temperature Outlook
Faith In The Flakes: It Will Snow… Eventually
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