Santa may need a heavier coat as Christmas temperatures challenge long-standing records
Records, including some which have stood for nearly four decades, could be in jeopardy this Christmas as an outbreak of Arctic air has sent the eastern U.S. into a deep freeze ahead of the holiday.
Ol’ St. Nick might be unable to tell the difference between the United States and the North Pole. A blast of Arctic air has sent the eastern two-thirds of the United States into a deep freeze ahead of Christmas Day, with temperatures challenging records that have stood for nearly four decades.
After taking a look at afternoon temperatures on Dec. 25 during the last 40 years, and checking the data twice, 1983 has stood as the coldest Christmas on record for the nation, according to AccuWeather Senior Weather Editor Jesse Ferrell.
"Christmas 1983 was legendary," Ferrell said. "The average temperature across the U.S. was around 20 degrees F, and, to this day, most low temperature records from Dec. 25, 1983, still stand in much of the eastern half of the nation."
"[December 1983] started out cold and only got colder," Joe Sheehan, a retired technician for the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, wrote in a summary of the coldest December on record. Sheehan attributed the cold month to "a persistent jet stream pattern that brought one cold Arctic blast after another."
A 10-day Arctic invasion from Dec. 16, 1983, to the day after Christmas brought the lowest temperatures of the month not only to South Dakota but to the entire U.S.
People who lived in the northern Plains were among the first to experience bone-chilling temperatures. In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, temperatures topped only a frigid zero degrees Fahrenheit on the first day of the outbreak of Arctic air. Over the next nine days, temperatures continued to fall in the city. Two days before Christmas, the lowest temperature of the month was recorded when the temperature dipped to 14 below zero.
A person dressed as Santa Claus walks in the snow-covered stands at Highmark Stadium before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins in Orchard Park, N.Y., Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Joshua Bessex)
Even though temperatures started to rise after the 23rd, blustery winds made it feel dangerously cold. Shortly after midnight on the 24th, temperatures dipped to minus 22 degrees F. Winds in excess of 30 mph created a dangerous wind chill of 82 degrees F below zero, according to Sheehan.
The record-breaking cold weather continued spreading across the U.S. just in time for the holiday.
By Christmas Day, the coldest air was centered around the Midwest and along the spine of the Appalachian Mountains. On Christmas, nearly 78% of the entire U.S. recorded temperatures below 32 degrees F and at least 30% of the nation recorded temperatures below 10 degrees F.
In Chicago, the temperature dropped to 5 below zero on Christmas Day in 1983, setting a new record for the lowest temperature recorded on that day in the Windy City. Compared to normal, temperatures were 39 degrees F below average on that day nearly 40 years ago.
While it won't get that cold in Chicago this Christmas, AccuWeather forecasters warn that temperatures will feel much chillier, combined with the wind. In Chicago, temperatures on Christmas are forecast to be 13 degrees F, with AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures below zero for most of the day.
Temperatures will likely not break any records in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Christmas, but forecasters warn they will be below average for the holiday. A high of 15 degrees F is expected in Indianapolis, which is 23 degrees F below normal for the city on Christmas. The coldest Christmas ever recorded in the Crossroads of America occurred in 1983 when the temperature dropped to 4 below zero.
The coldest Christmases ever recorded in New York City were in 1983 and 1980 when the temperature, both years, dropped to a low of 13 degrees F. This year, forecasters say that although temperatures won't be as cold as 1983, temperatures will still be below average. The average temperature for New York City on Christmas is 42 degrees F. This year, the high for Christmas Day will be a chilly 27 degrees F.
Below-normal temperatures won't be limited to the northern U.S. The mercury in states as far south as Florida and Georgia is expected to nosedive.
In Atlanta, the average temperature for Christmas is 55 degrees F, but residents will be greeted with freezing temperatures this year. Temperatures in Atlanta dipped to 8 degrees Saturday morning. The high for Sunday will be in the low 30s, which is nearly 25 degrees below average for the city. The coldest Christmas Atlanta has recorded was in 1983, when the mercury dropped to zero degrees F.
Thermometer readings plummeted some 25-50 degrees from the Plains to the mid-Atlantic behind this Arctic front -- even 30 degrees in a few hours in the most extreme cases.
For anyone who had "seeing falling iguanas" on their bucket list this year, you might be in luck on Christmas if you live in parts of Florida. As the coldest air of the season flows into Florida this weekend, residents in central and northern Florida will have a good chance of seeing a falling iguana. These cold-blooded animals become slow or immobile when the temperature drops below 40 degrees F. Forecasters warn that temperatures will be near 40 degrees in some areas across the Sunshine State this weekend.
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