Raindrops Not 'Teardrop' Shaped And More You Didn't Know

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A​ Southern "heat wave" will smash dozens of daily, and even a few monthly records from Colorado and Texas into the Deep South into this weekend. It's just the latest round of record warmth we've seen over the past few years in the U.S.

Notable r​ecords, so far: Monday, all-time February record highs were tied or set in at least six cities in Colorado, New Mexico and western Texas.

A​mong them, Grand Junction, Colorado, soared to 71 degrees, topping their previous record set 121 years ago in 1904 (and three weeks later in February).

L​ubbock, Texas, not only tied their February record Monday (91 degrees), but it was also nine days earlier than their previous record earliest high in the 90s in any year (Feb. 12, 2017). The city also hit daily record highs on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Typical for the Texas Panhandle, Amarillo tied their February record high Monday (89 degrees), then plunged to 21 degrees behind a cold front just 17 hours later.

Oklahoma set a state record high for any previous Feb. 3, according to the Oklahoma Mesonet project.

O​n Tuesday, Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina, tied its February record high (81 degrees) eight days earlier in the calendar than it previously did in 2017.

M​ore to come: This pattern of spring-like warmth will continue over much of the South into this weekend, but there is an end in sight.

I​n these areas, daytime highs in the 70s and 80s can be expected with lows generally in the 50s and 60s. I​n places such as Dallas-Ft. Worth, this warmth is considered average in April, rather than early February.

D​ozens more daily warm records will likely fall by the wayside, particularly from Texas to the Carolinas.

(​MORE MAPS: 10-Day U.S. Forecast Highs/Lows)

R​eality check ahead: This being February, the heat wave couldn't last much longer.

M​ore sustained colder air will plunge southward through the Plains Saturday, leaving much of Texas to Kentucky, Tennessee and parts of the Carolinas colder by Monday.

T​his colder air could hang in place over parts of the South Plains, as well as the northern tier much of next week. Parts of the Southeast, particularly Florida, may avoid this cold air surge, according to NOAA's latest long-range outlook shown below.

B​ig February heat waves last two years: This makes the third consecutive year we've seen February heat waves smash monthly records in parts of the country.

L​ast year, an end of February heat wave sent temperatures soaring to 90 degrees in southeast Missouri and the low 70s in Lower Michigan. In all, 56 cities tied or set new record highs for any winter day from December through February in this heat wave.

A​nd in late February 2023, Atlanta (81 degrees), Nashville (85 degrees) and Raleigh (85 degrees) each set their all-time winter month highs.

What a difference: This is an incredible contrast from last month, as the map below of January temperature anomalies shows.

A​ccording to Todd Crawford, Vice President of Meteorology at Atmospheric G2, it was America's coldest January since at least 2014. NOAA's January U.S. climate report to be released Monday will provide additional perspective on how cold January was here in the Lower 48 states.

January featured four major winter storms in under three weeks, beginning with Winter Storm Blair and punctuated by the historic Gulf Coast Winter Storm Enzo. Following Enzo, New Iberia (2 degrees), Lafayette (4 degrees), Baton Rouge (19 degrees) and New Orleans' Lakefront Airport (26 degrees) each set all-time record lows.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.​