Temperatures climbed into the 90s in Missouri, the mid-80s in Illinois, the near 80s in Iowa and the mid-70s in Wisconsin. In Texas, temperatures hit the century mark. Record-breaking heat, up to 40 degrees above normal, crossed the border into southern Canada. Quebec saw its highest February temperature.
In many cases, the records were exceeded by significant amounts.
Weather historian Maximiliano Herrera described the heat episode as “insanity, madness, incredible mind”. in X. He compared its size to the more extreme heat events in US history. “Records were broken by margins seen only a few times in history,” he wrote.
The heat also sparked an outbreak of damaging tornadoes in the Midwest, including the Michigan tornado seen in February.
At the same time, it contributed to massive wildfires that broke out in Texas and other parts of the Plains.
A handful of additional record warm weather was forecast for the Northeast on Wednesday, but the same strong front that sparked the tornadoes is weighing on the east, bringing a dramatic drop in temperatures.
After a very brief pause in the freak heat, another strong pulse of extremely mild weather is likely to threaten records again in the central United States later this week.
The El Niño climate pattern and human-caused climate change are helping to drive this exceptionally warm weather, capping the warmest winter on record for the Lower 48 states.
The Climate Shift Index from Climate Central, a nonprofit climate communications group, suggests human-induced climate change makes this latest heat event two to three times more likely.
Records broke across the central US
On Tuesday, record highs were set from Texas to New York, but the most significant – relative to normal – warmth was concentrated in the Upper Midwest, where many locations recorded their highest February temperatures and, in many cases, winter temperatures.
Some sites even set monthly records on consecutive days.
Below is a list of many of the record-breaking locations for the month that have at least 100 years of weather observations:
- Illinois: Springfield (80), Carbondale (79), Moline (79), Peoria (78), Quincy (78) and Rockford (78)
- Iowa: Cedar Rapids (78), Des Moines (78), Waterloo (78), Burlington (77), Sioux City (77), Spencer (74) and Dubuque (72)
- Michigan: Flint (74), Holland (74), Kalamazoo (74), Saginaw (74), Battle Creek (73), Detroit (73), Grand Rapids (73), Lansing (73), Alpena (70), Houghton Lake (69), Muskegon (67) and Sault Ste. Maria (51)
- Wisconsin: Milwaukee (74), Green Bay (70), Madison (70), La Crosse (69), Wausau (68) and Rhinelander (65)
- Others: Abilene, Tex. (94), St Louis (86), Omaha (80), Norfolk, Neb. (76) and Toledo (73)
State records for February were set in Missouri (90), Arkansas (90), Illinois (86), Wisconsin (77), Michigan (75) and Minnesota (72). according Herrera, though these numbers are preliminary and require verification by the National Weather Service.
The first 100-degree mark of the year was also seen in Killeen, Texas, on Monday. That was three points shy of the US record for February.
The exceptional warmth extended into both Mexico and Canada. With drought raging in Mexico, record it approached 105 degrees. In Canada, which has been unusually warm for much of the winter, Quebec was tentatively established new provincial high for February, with temperature up to 68.9 degrees.
The heat sparked tornadoes
As the unseasonably warm weather moved north, the Weather Service recorded around one dozens of tornado reports until early Wednesday. The majority of reports are from northern Illinois, including the Chicago area, parts of southern Michigan and central Ohio. The Weather Service office serving the Chicago area issued 10 tornado warnings, the most on record in February. Travelers at O'Hare International Airport were briefly told to avoid windows as rotating storms moved through.
Many towns and cities reported damage to homes and businesses from the storms.
ONE tornado formed at Grand Blanc, Mich., southeast of Flint, rated EF2 on the 0-5 scale for spinnersis the northernmost part of the state this early in the season and among the three most northerly February tornadoes to form in the United States. The tornado cluster was also one of the most prominent in the lower Great Lakes region early in the year.
Earlier in the month, Wisconsin saw its first February tornado during another warm spell.
The storms also produced many reports of damaging winds and large hail from the southern Great Lakes to West Virginia. A few more heavy storms could develop in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast by Wednesday as the strong front charges eastward.
The storm front that triggered the severe storms also brought about dramatic changes in temperature. On Tuesday afternoon, as the front crossed Kansas, temperatures dropped into the upper 20s after soaring into the 80s the previous day.
Kansas City, Mo., reached 73 degrees around 2 a.m. Tuesday, and by 8 p.m. it had dropped to 30 degrees.
In Fargo, SW, the temperature reached 61 degrees Monday afternoon, the second highest on record for February. The next day, the temperature dropped to 6 degrees with a minus-20 wind chill as winds howled over 50 mph amid heavy snow. Wednesday morning lows fell to -5.
Published in Madison, the capital of Wisconsin the largest 24-hour temperature change on recorddips from 70 to 11 degrees Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning.
A surprisingly different start to the day in the central US, with a record-setting warm air mass undermined by the passage of a very strong cold front. You can see how dramatic the temperature drops have been over the last 24 hours in the plains and midwest. pic.twitter.com/6wOqpUY5Uh
— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) February 28, 2024
According Weather Service Temperatures in the Lower 48 ranged from a high of 100 degrees in Killeen, Texas, to minus 13 in Mackay, Idaho, on Monday. On Tuesday, high temperatures ranged from 99 degrees in Falcon Village, Texas to minus -16 in Kelliher, Minn.
Although this cold front brings sudden drops in temperatures, they only fall about 10 to 20 degrees below normal – mostly in the northern plains and upper Midwest. Only a few cold weather records are in jeopardy.
Record heat is expected to resume on Thursday in parts of the northern plains, with temperatures at least 20 degrees above normal heading east to start March.
For the weekend, many of the same places in the Midwest and Great Lakes that just experienced record winter heat are in the first such round during the climatological spring, defined as March through May.
Highs are expected to be 20 to 40 degrees above normal. That means more 80s and 90s in the south central states, with 60s and 70s in the Great Lakes.
Temperatures may moderate in the east somewhat after the first seven to 10 days of March, but the general pattern favors cooler and windier weather in the west, while high pressure over southeastern Canada will keep things on the mild side in the eastern half of the nation. .
Jason Samenow contributed to this report.
