January Feels Extra Like Summer season in Some U.S. States. Right here’s Why
An space of excessive strain is bringing record-high warmth to some components of the U.S., with an added increase from local weather change
A map of temperatures forecast for the contiguous U.S. on January 8, 2026.
It’s January, which generally means heating payments go up because the temperature goes down. However for some folks within the U.S. South, the demand can be for extra air-conditioning, as temperatures soar 20 to 35 levels Fahrenheit (11 to 19 levels Celsius) above native averages—and even to record-breaking heights in some spots.
The unseasonal warmth stems from an space of excessive strain shifting throughout the japanese U.S., pulling in heat air from the south and the record-breaking heat waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
The primary data began to happen because of the climate system on Tuesday, with a excessive of 82 levels F (28 levels C) in Houston, Tex., 74 levels F (23 levels C) in Tulsa, Okla., and 81 levels F (27 levels C) in Baton Rouge, La.
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Broad swaths of the japanese U.S. will see temperatures properly above native averages—and a few might set data. Within the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, temperatures might even attain 90 levels F (32 levels C). Brian Hurley, a meteorologist on the Nationwide Climate Service’s Climate Prediction Middle, says that 31 stations throughout that space might set data or come shut. “That’s vital,” he says.
The nights can be notably hotter than regular—an indicator of worldwide warming. In a single day lows are rising twice as quick as daytime highs, in keeping with Local weather Central, a nonprofit analysis and information group.
Local weather Central’s Local weather Shift Index software calculates that the excessive temperatures seen throughout this January warmth occasion have been made wherever from 1.5 to 5 occasions extra possible due to local weather change, relying on the day and placement.
The system follows scorching on the heels of a warmth wave that handed throughout the southern U.S. on the finish of final yr; December 25, 2025’s common excessive temperature for the contiguous U.S. was the most well liked Christmas Day on document by a margin of three levels F (1.7 levels C). That will sound minimal, however it’s a substantial quantity to set a document by, particularly over such a big space.
This newest warmth can be short-lived; a chilly entrance will sweep throughout the U.S. forward of a low-pressure system. Temperatures within the wake of the entrance are anticipated to return to regular.
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