El Paso hits 100 degrees at earliest date in over 3 decades
EL PASO, Texas -- It's a tale of two extremes across the U.S., with temperatures well below normal in the East and triple-digit highs pushing well above normal in the Southwest.
Seasonal whiplash is being felt over a large portion of the country, and here in El Paso we saw record-breaking heat on Thursday afternoon.
El Paso International Airport hit 100 degrees at 2:46 p.m., breaking the daily high temperature record of 99 degrees set back in 2009.
According to National Weather Service data, this marked the earliest point in the year that El Paso has ever reached triple-digits.
The NWS said El Paso bested that 31-year old record by just one day.
And El Pasons aren't the only ones experincing record-breaking heat.
Around 25 million people are under some sort of heat watch, warning or advisory in the Southwest, including in Phoenix and Los Angeles.
Phoenix is expected to have triple-digit temperatures lasting through at least next Monday, making for a sizzling Mother's Day weekend. Near-record heat is also expected to continue in Los Angeles, with downtown reaching the mid-90s for the next few days.
On the flip side, the East Coast will soon be feeling the chill, in a big way.
"A strong push of cold air from Friday into Saturday will reinforce the cold air and bring conditions more like February as opposed to May," CNN Meteorologist Dave Hennen said. Dozens of records for the lowest high temperatures could be broken over the next few days.
Snow will likely fall over portions of the Great Lakes into interior sections of the Northeast from Friday into Saturday, where some accumulation is likely.
"It appears that interior New England will see significant amounts of wet snow with northerly winds becoming increasingly strong and gusty late Friday night into Saturday morning," the Weather Prediction Center is forecasting.
Temperatures in the Northeastern U.S. will fall into the low to mid-30s by Saturday morning. The possible record low high temperatures will also stretch as far south as Florida by Sunday.
"Over 60 million people are under some sort of frost or freeze, watch, warning, or advisory," Hennen said.
For current weather conditions and the latest forecast anytime visit kvia.com/weather.
