This afternoon’s blowtorch has many from the Plains to Mid-Atlantic scratching their heads as exceptionally warm temperatures rocketing to mid-September levels and 20-30°F above normal for Dec 3.

Today’s astonishing all-time record warmth is a byproduct of the weeklong wild pattern which has hammered California and the West. As much as 23.4 inches of rain feel at Brandy Creek, CA in 5 days, 6 feet of snow fell at Mammoth Mountain while yesterday morning, the same site recorded a wind gust of 150 mph.

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This jet seperates a vast temperature imbalance across North America but it’s this multi-layered, powerhouse Pacific flow, streaming from the sub-tropics and excellerating, compressing as it downslopes the Front Range of the Rockies which is aiding in today’s warmth. Another aspect is the drought over the Heartland which may be helping pump an unusually strong upper ridge and these factors combined is the likely cause for seeing highs widely shatter both daily and even all-time monthly records. Today is one of, if not thee warmest December day in living memory from the Plains to Mid-Atlantic.

Below are the current temperatures across the country right now.

These are the departures from normal.

Where Is The Cold? Chicken, AK Experiences Six Straight Nights Below -50°F

While the Lower 48 bask in unusual warmth, in stark contrast, Alaska and Northwest Canada is shivering in a brutal early season cold wave. This looks to be the second year in a row where this NW corner of the continent has dealt with a brutal early season coldwave.

It’s a complete flip from down south as temperatures from the Alaskan Interior to the Northwest Territories of Canada have been running 20-30 BELOW normal. Lows have widely been in the -30s, -40s and for parts of the eastern Interior of AK and the Yukon, lows have been persistently dipping into the -60s. Chicken, AK has now witnessed 6 straight nights under -50°.

In Fairbanks, this frigid start to December comes on the heels of the 6th coldest November on record with 17 days with lows into the -20s with only one November seeing more brutal lows according to the NWS. The city has failed to hit 0° for a high since Black Friday. The truely exceptional cold was however focused over eastern interior Alaska and western Yukon with highs in the -40s, lows in the -50s. In Chicken, a low of -57° was recorded Saturday morning while the high was a brutal -44°.

There is no real end in sight from this brutal cold but when it does break, the Lower 48 is likely to see this come south. If you live in the Lower 48, don’t let today’s warmth lead you into believing a mild winter is on the way. The pattern has all the signs of some brutal cold coming later this month. The frigid cold building up over the northwest bares watching and remember, one that PNA goes positive and the ridge builds up the west coast and into Alaska, all this spills south and I strongly believe this will happen in the next 3 weeks.

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