Weekend Record Highs Smashed From California To Minnesota

From California to the upper Midwest, record highs were smashed on Saturday and Sunday as unseasonably warm temperatures gave much of the western half of the country a July-like feel in the heart of October.

Downtown Los Angeles hit 100° on both Friday and Saturday and appeared poised to do so again on Sunday, as temperatures had soared to 99° by 2pm PDT. Records had already been set across much of southern California on Sunday, marking the second consecutive day of record-setting temperatures across the region.

Meanwhile further north, record highs in Denver, Colorado were set on Sunday (86° as of 3pm MDT), and much of the upper Midwest saw scorching temperatures. International Falls, Minnesota, affectionately known as America’s ice box, tied its warmest October temperature ever recorded on Sunday with an 88° reading, and Norfolk and Grand Island (both 97°), Nebraska set new warmest-ever October temperature records on Sunday as well.

Cooler temperatures arrive in the form of a moisture-starved cold front that is also bringing high winds and high fire danger along with it. Behind the front, however, the gusty winds are expected to calm down and temperatures are expected to move back to more seasonable levels by Monday and Tuesday, but temperatures are expected to then gradually warm back up by the middle-to-end portion of the work week.

The jet stream has been parked in southern Canada for much of the last week, allowing unseasonably far north, helping warm air to move in from the southwest. Typically during the fall, the jet stream fluctuates from north to south, bringing bursts of cooler temperatures from the north with lingering warmth during quieter spells.

For WeatherNation: Meteorologist Chris Bianchi – Photo: Huntington Beach, California on Sunday, courtesy: HBCams.com