If this is winter, six more weeks sounds great.
Southern California could see unseasonably warm temperatures in the 80s this week — despite Punxsutawney Phil’s Groundhog Day “prediction” of a long winter.
A high-pressure system is expected to send temperatures soaring in Los Angeles and SoCal while much of the country remained in a deep chill — with New York City seeing temperatures above freezing on Monday for the first time in nine days.
LA may come near record highs for this time of the year by Wednesday and Thursday when 83 degrees is forecast, some 5 to 10 degrees above normal for early February, according to the National Weather Service.
“It’s been a long, persistent stretch of some very cold weather that’s made its way all the way down to Florida,” Accuweather senior meteorologist John Feerick told The Post.
“And the response is, you know, a ridge across the west, which means temperatures generally get above average,” he added. “ And that’s likely to continue to be the case here as we head through the upcoming week.”
But the heat’s not here to stay. In just a week temperatures will plummet by 25 degrees next week to a high of just 59 degrees — which still sounds like a beach day to snow-battered Midwest and East Coast residents.
“It looks like it’s going to be very cold across the northeast again next week. And I think you know what’s different about this cold that’s coming next weekend is it does look like it’s more focused across the Mid-Atlantic northeast,” he said.
While Feerick questions Punxsutawney Phil’s scientific methods, the furry forecaster may have nailed it for a majority of the country after the mascot was said to have seen his shadow, signaling six more weeks before winter breaks.
“I’m not sure I totally trust his methods, [but] it seems like for a couple weeks, it is going to stay colder than average, at least across the eastern portion of the country,” he said.
