Dangerous, Record-Breaking Heat to Continue in the Central and Eastern U.S.; Severe Thunderstorms in the Upper Midwest; Critical Fire Weather in the Four Corners

Dangerous, record-breaking heat will continue across most of the central and eastern U.S this week. Heat indices will exceed 100 degrees. Severe storms will be possible from the northern Plains into the Midwest and Great Lakes regions, as well as across the southern Appalachians Thursday, with the primary threat large to very large hail. Critical fire weather to continue in the Four Corners Region Read More >

On December 23, 2015, a rare and powerful storm system developed over the Central United States. As seen in the infrared satellite animation below, the storm tracked from Oklahoma, northeastward to the Great Lakes Region into the pre-dawn hours of Christmas Eve.

Warm, southerly winds developed well ahead of the system. On December 23rd, southerly flow aided high temperatures in reaching record territory. All three primary climate sites (Grand Rapids, Lansing and Muskegon) achieved record high temperatures by no less than three degrees above previous records. Warmth extended slightly beyond midnight on Christmas Eve, before beginning to cool. Grand Rapids set yet another record high just after midnight on December 24th, while Lansing and Muskegon barely missed their records.

Damaging wind gusts closely followed, shortly after midnight on Christmas Eve. Many locations reported gusts in excess of 40 miles per hour. Some of the highest gusts were around 70 miles per hour! A large number of residents and businesses lost power with some restoration estimates keeping power off until Sunday, December 27th.

Record High Temperatures Achieved December 23, 2015

Grand Rapids- 60 degrees, breaking the previous record of 57 degrees set in 1941 and 1982

Lansing- 60 degrees, breaking the previous record of 57 degree set in 1893

Muskegon- 62 degrees, breaking the previous record of 54 degrees set in 1941

Record High Temperatures Achieved December 24, 2015

Grand Rapids- 59 degrees, breaking the previous record of 58 degrees set in 1893

Wind Gusts Observed December 24, 2015

For a complete list of observed wind gusts, please visit:

https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=grr&product=pns&issuedby=grr

Power Outage Map- December 24th at 10am

Map Courtesy: Consumers Energy

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