The main purpose of this blog will be to track planetary extreme, or record temperatures related to climate change. Any reports I see of ETs will be listed below the main topic of the day. I’ll refer to extreme or record temperatures as ETs (not extraterrestrials).😜
Main Topic: Bah Humbug- Rest of December Looking Warm for Most of Lower 48 States
Dear Diary. It’s interesting to witness what has been happening to the lower 48 states this December as the world sits at about +1.3°C above preindustrial conditions for average global temperatures. That’s still cool enough to permit frigid conditions to occur for the northern and eastern half of the nation for the first half of December:
In my neck of the woods in Atlanta, officially the temperature got down to 20°F from the latest arctic blast into the United States this morning, the coldest of the season thus far, but that is nowhere near the record daily low of 11°F set in 1901. Yes, the first two major Arctic outbreaks have produced hundreds of daily low mins, mainly in the Midwest, but by far western warmth has outweighed eastern chill this month so far:
From:
Yes, this is how global warming statistically works. Areas chilled by cold weather patterns as of 2025 are not as significantly cold as nearby lands under warm weather patterns that are similar in square acreage during long periods of time, say a month or more.
A big warming trend is already underway for most areas chilled by this morning’s Arctic blast. In ten days by Christmas, we will see a heat dome established over the southern half of the country:
I have no doubt that thousands of more record maxes will occur from this pattern. Just how many remains to be seen, which I will be reporting shortly after the new year. In the meantime, bah humbug! Yes, I’m dreaming of a white Christmas as well as most people in snow belt areas, but this weather pattern driven by climate change won’t help.
Here are some “ETs” recorded from around the planet the last couple of days, their consequences, and some extreme temperature outlooks, as well as any extreme precipitation reports:
Here is More Climate News from Monday:
(As usual, this will be a fluid post in which more information gets added during the day as it crosses my radar, crediting all who have put it on-line. Items will be archived on this site for posterity. In most instances click on the pictures of each tweet to see each article. The most noteworthy items will be listed first.)