Winter vs Spring

The middle of the country has been slammed with wintry weather all week and more is on the way. Meanwhile, parts of the southeast and northeast are enjoying well above average temperatures.

We’ll start with the good news: Spring making an appearance across much of the East. Multiple high temperature records were broken across the Southeast on Monday. Fargo, GA hit 87F, breaking the old record of 82F. Clayton, AL warmed to 80F. This beat the old record of 78F set in 2000. Here’s a look at other cities across the region that either tied or broke high temperature records.

Atlanta will enjoy highs in the upper 70s through the end of the week. In fact, they could break a record today. The forecast high is 77F which would beat the current record of 75F set back in 1976. The average high for this time in February in Atlanta is 58F!

While these warm temperatures give us some hope that Spring is near, many in the central and western U.S. are dealing with winter weather. Freezing rain created dangerous travel across parts of the central Plains and the Upper Midwest the last few days. And today, ice is expected in parts of the Southern Plains.

An Ice Storm Warning is in place for parts of north central Texas, including Abilene. Freezing rain is expected through this afternoon. Ice could accumulate up to a quarter inch. Driving conditions will be hazardous.

Winter Weather Advisories are also in effect from central Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois for a wintry mixture of sleet, snow, and freezing rain.

Even more winter weather is expected for parts of the Central U.S. in the coming days while the East Coast continues to enjoy abnormally warm temperatures. Long term forecasts show a significant pattern change for parts of the country as we head into March.