Unseasonably warm weather across eastern US breaks records for February

Dozens of record high daily temperatures were set Tuesday and Wednesday.

ByABC News
February 21, 2018, 8:21 PM

— -- Dozens of cities across the eastern United States saw record high temperatures this week, with some shattering the all-time record highs for February.

A major ridge of high pressure is sitting over the western Atlantic Ocean, and south winds on the back side of this high pressure are bringing unseasonably warm air from the tropics into the eastern U.S.

PHOTO: A couple are enjoying the outdoors with the spring-like weather that is hitting New York City, Feb. 20, 2018.
A couple are enjoying the outdoors with the spring-like weather that is hitting New York City, Feb. 20, 2018.

Record high daily temperatures were set from the Midwest into the Deep South and up into New England.

Tampa (89 degrees), Louisville (82 degrees), Lexington (80 degrees), Indianapolis (77 degrees), Pittsburgh (78 degrees) and Cincinnati (79 degrees) all set February records on Tuesday.

But a cold front moving east Wednesday will put an end to the unusually warm weather for most of the Midwest.

PHOTO: Cities across the eastern United States are experiencing record high temperatures for this month, Feb. 21, 2018.
Cities across the eastern United States are experiencing record high temperatures for this month, Feb. 21, 2018.

Meanwhile, warm air in the East will get squeezed between the Atlantic Ocean's high pressure and the approaching cold front. This will yield even more record high temperatures from the Gulf Coast and into the Northeast.

Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., were forecast to set February records Wednesday.

ABC News' Melissa Griffin contributed to this report.

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