Temperature Clash: Record Cold and Warmth

You may have heard the cliche "clash of seasons" to describe spring. From a temperature perspective, Monday and Tuesday of this week have displayed an impressive contrast between morning frost and freezes and searing 90s and triple digits across the nation.

Monday's Temperature Extremes

On Monday morning, new record low temperatures for May 13 were tied or broken in Nashville, Tenn., Toledo, Ohio, Detroit, Mich., Tupelo, Miss. and Marquette, Mich., to name a few locations. Light snow was even reported in Bradford, Pa. and in the Adirondacks of Upstate New York.

(PHOTOS:  Snowy, Frosty Monday Morning)

By Monday afternoon, the season's first 90s surged as far north as the Dakotas. Some cities in the Dakotas saw temperature rises of 65+ degrees from Sunday morning's lows in the 20s. Aberdeen, S.D. saw a temperature swing of 70 degrees from 22 on Sunday morning to 92 on Monday afternoon!

In Las Vegas, Nev., temperatures reached the 100-degree mark for the first time this year. Salt Lake City, Utah (93), Boise, Idaho (95) and Bismarck, N.D. (91) were among the cities that either tied or set new record highs for May 13.

Tuesday's Temperature Extremes

On Tuesday morning, record lows for May 14 were broken or tied in Jacksonville, Fla. (47), Tallahassee, Fla. (44), Charlotte, N.C. (41), Raleigh, N.C. (39), and Roanoke, Va. (35). In the Northeast and Middle Atlantic, New York City was two degrees away from its daily record low and Washington, D.C. was one degree shy of its record.

On the other end of the temperature scale, locations in the Plains and Midwest saw temperatures rise into the 80s, 90s and even 100s Tuesday afternoon.

Daily record high temperatures for May 14 were set in Omaha, Neb. (101), Minneapolis, Minn. (98) Cheyenne, Wyo. (84) and St. Louis, Mo. (93). For Minneapolis and Omaha, it was the hottest day on record this early in the season.

Chicago rose to 91 degrees Tuesday afternoon after waking up to a low of 36 degrees Monday morning. This is the largest one-day warm up in Windy City history.

It wasn't hot everywhere in the Midwest on Tuesday. A northeast wind off of Lake Superior kept Duluth, Minn. (Sky Harbor Airport) in the 40s early Tuesday afternoon while parts of southwest Minnesota baked in the low 100s!

Hang in there if you are feeling the middle May chill in the East. The warmth will continue to spread east later in the week, albeit not in "record fashion", per se.

(HIGHS MAPS:  Wed. | Thu. | Fri.)

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