If winter is here, a few more weeks wouldn’t hurt.
Despite Punxsutawney Phil’s “prediction” for a prolonged winter, Southern California might enjoy unseasonably warm temperatures in the 80s this week.
High pressure is set to elevate temperatures in Los Angeles and Southern California, though much of the country remains in a deep freeze, with New York City finally surpassing freezing for the first time in nine days on Monday.
Temperatures in Los Angeles could climb to 83 degrees by Wednesday and Thursday, which is 5 to 10 degrees higher than what’s usual for early February. This could result in some of the warmest readings for this time of year, according to the National Weather Service.
“We’ve had a long stretch of cold that’s even affected parts of Florida,” commented AccuWeather senior meteorologist John Feerick.
“And the western regions, in general, are expected to see warmer-than-average temperatures,” he mentioned. “This pattern is likely to continue into next week.”
However, this warm spell won’t last indefinitely. In just a week, temperatures are expected to drop by 25 degrees, with highs only reaching about 59 degrees. For those in the snow-heavy Midwest and East Coast, that likely feels like a beach day.
“Next week looks like it will bring very cold conditions across the Northeast. What’s different this time is that the cold seems to be particularly focused on the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic coast,” he explained.
Feerick isn’t entirely sold on Punxsutawney Phil’s forecasting methods, but after the groundhog supposedly saw his shadow, predicting another six weeks of winter, it seems there may be some truth to it for many people in the country.
“I’m not sure I can fully trust his methods, but it appears we might be in for a few weeks of colder-than-usual weather, particularly in the eastern states,” he concluded.
