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The world's hottest year is ending in the most fitting manner possible: with one of the most significant heat waves on record for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The heat extends more than 1,500 miles, from South Florida northward to eastern Canada, and is being described on social media — in non-technical terminology — as a "blowtorch" weather pattern. As of Thursday morning, at least a dozen daily record high temperatures had already been broken, including in New York City, which hit 67 degrees Fahrenheit (a typical reading for late May) at 1 a.m. ET. Temperatures on Thursday and Friday will make a run at numerous all-time December high temperature records, along with record-warm overnight low temperatures. Forecast high temperatures for Dec. 24, 2015, with circles indicating weather stations that may set or tie high temperature records. We'll be tracking the records as they fall on Thursday and Friday. In total, computer model projections show that more than 75 out of the 236 "first-order" weather observing sites in the lower 48 states will be within striking distance of a record high temperature on Christmas Eve, with slightly fewer locations in the same situation on Christmas Day. See also: Dangerous severe storms, including tornadoes, tear across South, Midwest The unusual heat is spread out across more than two dozen states, and is helping to fuel severe thunderstorms that have spawned deadly tornadoes. In New York, the forecast high temperature of 74 degrees on Thursday is just 1 degree Fahrenheit shy of the actual high temperature on July 4, 2015, the National Weather Service said. The low temperature in New York on Christmas morning should be above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which was the warmest on record for the date. And according to Weather.com, if Washington, D.C. fails to see temperatures dip below 59 degrees Fahrenheit on Christmas Day, the city will establish a new all-time December record for the warmest low temperature. #NYC record (63F) for today has already been broken... 67F at 1am [Official] As of 830a, all 4 climate sites w/n the Boston WFO have broken the total # of 50° days in Dec pic.twitter.com/GFHPlFRrpT Here's a rundown of some of the noteworthy temperature records that have already been set this Christmas in the eastern U.S. (Keep in mind that record warmth is also occurring in eastern Canada and parts of Europe and Asia as well.) In Providence, a record high temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit was set at 4:25 a.m. ET, which is about the time when the typical daily low temperature occurs at this time of year. This beat the previous record of 64 degrees, which was set just last year. The forecast high temperature in Providence is expected to be near or above 70 degrees today, greatly exceeding 2014's noteworthy Christmas Eve warmth. Thru Dec. 23rd, incredible monthly avg temps, roughly +10-11° above normal, @ +5° above #1 records! pic.twitter.com/U47vR8CrZS Grand Rapids, Michigan set a daily high temperature record of 59 degrees Fahrenheit as of 6:07 a.m. ET, beating the old record of 58 degrees Fahrenheit, which was set in 1893. Grand Rapids also set a record high on Wednesday. In Indianapolis, Indiana, the temperature of 64 degrees Fahrenheit recorded shortly after midnight on Dec. 24 was high enough to tie the record for the date, which was recorded in 1933. Records began at this location in 1871, the National Weather Service said in a statement. The warmth is expected to be especially pronounced in the Mid-Atlantic states, where records began toppling shortly after midnight last night. [Update] Now both #Providence & #Worcester have established record high temps for Dec. 24th pic.twitter.com/Y8n9zVJp6b For example, a record high temperature was set at Georgetown, Delaware as of 1:29 a.m. ET this morning when the temperature hit 72 degrees Fahrenheit, smashing the old record of 68, set in 2013. Reading, Allentown and Atlantic City also broke or tied record daily highs in the early morning hours, well before sunrise. These records and more will ensure that the total number of warm temperature records in the U.S. for the month of December reach close to the astonishing figure of 7,000, compared to barely 1,000 for cold temperature records, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information in Asheville, North Carolina. In addition to the heat in the eastern U.S. and Midwest, some of the largest temperature anomalies are projected to occur across eastern Canada, including Ontario, Quebec and the Canadian Maritimes, where temperatures may be as much as 40 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit above average on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The record warm Christmas holiday is a fitting end to what will be Earth's hottest year-to-date, thanks to a combination of long-term manmade global warming and a powerful El Niño event in the Pacific Ocean. November 2015 was the seventh straight warmest month on record for the year so far. Not only that, but the amount by which the monthly average temperature exceeded the typical reading was the second-highest temperature departure from average of any month on record. Out of 1,630 monthly records, eight months during 2015 were among the 10 highest monthly temperature departures from their respective averages, and all of the months of 2015 to date are among the 25 highest. This year is expected to be the first year in which global average surface temperatures are at least 1 degree Celsius, or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, above average, meaning that the world is already halfway to the 2-degree Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, global warming target, and even closer to a more stringent 1.5-degree target mentioned in the recently negotiated Paris Agreement.
