Bitter cold gives way to warmer temperatures

Weeks of bitter cold weather with sub-zero temperatures have given way to another warm weather week with unseasonably high temperatures. 

Despite the swing, California is still suffering from its proximity to an atmospheric river that brought heavy rain and snow to the region.

Ariel Cohen, Meteorologist, National Weather Service: "This is truly been a historic storm for Los Angeles. We're talking about the third wettest two-day stretch since records started in the 1870s."

Nearly 500 mudslides have plagued the area so far this week. Nine lives were lost during the storms that precipitated the slides with nearly half being killed by falling trees.

Drivers faced tough road conditions in Big Bear, CA this week where a winter storm brought additional snow and gusty winds making travel difficult.

In the Midwest, record warm temperatures melted the piles of snow that appeared to be here for the long haul. In just a few days, the snow cover has disappeared from much of the country. Despite the break in the cold snap, winter is still officially here for another month and a half. More than 200 million people in the U.S. experienced above average temperatures.

The new U.N. chief of the World Meteorological Organization, Celeste Saulo, says the rate of human-caused climate change is accelerating and warmer weather in the Arctic has pushed polar vortexes outside of their traditional boundaries.

Weather for the coming week is predicted to see the rain shut off on the coast and colder temperatures throughout the upper Midwest. 

For Market to Market, I’m David Miller.

contact: miller@iowapbs.org