A strong cold front brought an end to our spring-like weather in North Texas and replaced it with something more reminiscent of December.
One may think that if Texas is this cold, well, Alaska must be really frigid. Actually, that's not the case. In fact, it's the opposite.
The jet stream pattern responsible for our Texas chill is also producing above-normal temperatures in Alaska.
The pattern creates a ridge of high pressure over the Pacific Ocean, arching north into Alaska. This allows milder maritime air from the Pacific to be drawn north into Alaska producing above-normal temperatures.
At the same time, the jet stream dives south through Canada and the United States forming a trough. This pulls in pretty cold air from Canada and even the North Pole into the U.S. leading to below-normal temperatures.
It is likely this pattern will remain largely unchanged for the next several days, perhaps lasting into the week of Thanksgiving.
Note the temperature outlook for next week calls for below-normal temperatures for nearly all of the lower 48 states.
On the other hand, Alaska has a chance for above-normal temperatures.
