Syracuse, NY – Who needs to fly south for the winter?
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Record high temperatures in New York, New Jersey may have some residents feeling like they can visit the tropics just by staying put.
Some people are trading gloves and scarves for shorts and T-shirts and going golfing and jogging instead of skiing. Some plan to grill steaks in the backyard.
Temperatures had already hit 70 degrees in some areas by Thursday morning. They were expected to rise into the mid-70s during the day. It’s expected to be in the upper 60s tomorrow.
Atlantic City and Trenton are poised to break existing heat records for December 24 by as much as 10 degrees.
High temperature records are tumbling across upstate New York as the early winter warmup continues across the region.
Record highs already have been recorded early on Christmas Eve in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse as temperatures top 60 degrees in each city. Albany’s 58 degrees Thursday morning broke the previous record of 57 set on Dec. 24, 1941.
The National Weather Service says high temperatures in some upstate areas could climb into the 70s by the end of the day.
Temperatures will cool off on Christmas Day but forecasters say temperatures will remain well above normal for this time of year.
While the Rockies and the Pacific Northwest have been getting heavy rain and snow, and the South has been hit by deadly tornadoes, much of the East Coast is in for balmy, springlike weather over the next few days.
Forecasters said El Nino, the warming of the Pacific Ocean near the equator, is driving warm air eastward and keeping cold air from the Arctic at bay.
Meteorologists said some Christmas Eve records could be broken by as much as 10 degrees.
“That’s one thing about the temperature especially today — a lot of places will blow away their previous record highs,” said Bob Oravec, a National Weather Service forecaster in College Park, Maryland.
Without the usual winter wonderland, some people clung to tradition to get in the mood.
Dozens skated at the ice rink in Cincinnati’s Fountain Square, where the temperature was in the 50s. Many of them were part of the annual Mechley family Christmas Eve morning gathering.
“Ironically, it’s the first year we had rented the warming hut,” said Camille Gartner, who was part of the group, expected to reach up to 80 people spanning four generations.
Fran Convery of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, tried to look the part, wearing red plaid shorts and a red pullover, but gave a bah-humbug scowl when asked about the weather. He was in Philadelphia with his family for a holiday tradition: looking at the decorations and having lunch at the Reading Terminal Market.
“I’d rather it be cold. I’d rather have snow on Christmas,” he said. “This past week and the days leading up to it did not feel like Christmas with the warm weather. But when we start doing this stuff, it does.”
In Warwick, Rhode Island, Stephen Malloney took advantage of the warm weather — the temperature hit a record of at least 65 in Providence — by playing a round of golf.
“Once I looked at the forecast, I packed my clubs,” said Malloney, who was in town from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, visiting family.
In New York City, the mercury hit 71 by 11 a.m. in Central Park, smashing the record of 63 degrees, set in 1996, and was expected to reach 74. The average temperature in December is just under 39 degrees. Dozens of people in shorts and tank tops went running in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.
“It’s kind of like this is our little gift for the last two winters,” said Carlie Buccola at the National Weather Service in Upton, New York.
The down side: The National Weather Service says the balmy weather is going to be accompanied by winds, showers and even thunderstorms that could last through the weekend.
The weather service has issued a wind advisory for parts of western New York, where gusts of up to 55 mph are forecast.
The blame — or the credit, depending on how you feel about the weather — belongs to El Nino, the ocean warming trend. Forecasters say it is driving warm air eastward and keeping cold arctic air at bay.
Hope it keeps up