It’s easy to forget that it’s the middle of January. The high again in Charlotte on Monday will be close to 70 degrees. That’s nearly 20 degrees above the normal high for this time of year in the Carolinas.
But it’s still a few degrees shy of record-breaking, according to Doug Outlaw, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Greenville, South Carolina. Outlaw says cooler weather is coming later this week.
“Temperatures will return to near normal with high temperatures in the low to mid-50s late this week and going into next week," he said.
Outlaw says the warm temperatures are due to a persistent sub-tropical pressure system that’s centered near Cuba. He says it’s separate from the system that caused this weekend’s storms, which spawned tornados. The storms are blamed for the deaths of 11 people and for causing extensive damage to a high school in Kershaw, South Carolina.
The stretch of abnormally warm days could have an effect on the Carolinas' peach crop. That’s because the peaches need a certain number of colder days in order to properly grow before being picked in the spring.
The Corolla Wild Horse Fund says the warm weather is leading the wild horses on the Outer Banks to do something they usually don’t do this time of year: stay on the beach longer. The group is warning drivers of recreational vehicles on the beach to be careful.
