It is exceptionally warm for this time of year in Dallas and Houston (Texas), New Orleans (Louisiana), Kansas City, Chicago (Illinois) and Oklahoma, among others. In Wichita Falls (Texas), temperatures of up to 33 degrees were finally measured on Christmas Day, while it is normally about 15 degrees warm. In Oklahoma, it was 31.5 degrees warm on Christmas Day, only a few degrees different from the temperatures measured in July. Iowa and Wisconsin previously saw heat records for the month of December break.
High temperatures, low humidity and little rainfall make the danger of wildfires particularly high in Texas and Oklahoma, among others. And it is forecast to remain warm for at least another week. After that, the temperatures drop slightly.
In the west of the US, heavy rainfall and snow storms have to be dealt with again. In Seattle (Washington), for example, almost 20 centimeters of snow fell on Christmas Day. That is exceptional, because in 127 years it has only snowed nine times in the city at Christmas.