40+ temperature swing

[WEATHER53]

IAD recorded on Friday a high of 73 and a low of 31. Dewpoints were modest, by no means exceptionally low and there was no frontal passage. I know there were heating degrees in that, there may have even been a few cooling degrees. To go from below freezing to within a few degrees of a record high is impressive.

[ColdFront77]

This was close to 40 degrees.

Alma, Georgia is 95 to 100 miles northwest of Jacksonville, Florida.


Check out Macon, Georgia!... 36 degree rise in 9 hours:

..3:53 pm: 72°F
..2:53 pm: 72°F
..1:53 pm: 71°F
12:53 pm: 70°F
11:53 am: 67°F
10:53 am: 63°F
..9:53 am: 56°F
..8:53 am: 46°F (10 degree fall)
..7:53 am: 39°F
..6:53 am: 36°F
..5:53 am: 36°F
..4:53 am: 36°F
..3:53 am: 37°F
..2:53 am: 38°F
..1:53 am: 39°F
12:53 am: 39°F
11:53 pm: 41°F
10:53 pm: 42°F
..9:53 pm: 44°F
..8:53 pm: 46°F
..7:53 pm: 48°F
..6:53 pm: 55°F
..5:53 pm: 56°F
..4:53 pm: 63°F

(all times Eastern)

[Guest]

Last April if you recall, IAD recorded 2 similar large temp swings..4/2 was 81/38..and 4/28 was 79/37, i.e. 43 and 42 degree swings respectively.....almost like in the desert..LOL......

[weatherlover427]

I remember a February day in 1995 when my city recorded a high of 96 ... it was the national high I believe. The next day, our high was 65. :o So you can imagine that the overnight low must have been in the 50s. I'll try to look up the low that night...

[Squall52]

Is that sort of swing unusual for fall? Seems like more of a spring thing to me.

[WEATHER53]

9 times out of 10 a 40+ degree swing within 24 hours would only come form a cold frontal passage for DC area.

[Stormsfury]

Last April if you recall, IAD recorded 2 similar large temp swings..4/2 was 81/38..and 4/28 was 79/37, i.e. 43 and 42 degree swings respectively.....almost like in the desert..LOL......

Bingo ... and several things can attribute to that ...

1) As WEATHER53 stated ... you can have a frontal passage (either strong cold or warm front) ... Two examples -- 1994 in CHS, the temperatures after NOT even reaching above freezing for a high, a strong low pressure system developed in the GOM and brought a strong warm front and strong WAA (warm air advection) through Coastal SC ... the temperature rose from 25º up to near 70º in a span of only 7 hours (and it was cloudy). Another example is the President's Day Storm back in February ... many locations reached over 70º in North Carolina, followed by a sudden 15º drop in 2 hours and many locations recording 40º swings in 24 hours due to CAD (Cold Air Damming) ...

2) Dry air and low relative humidity with clear skies can lead to wild swings in temperatures due to max insolation and ideal radiational cooling.

3) (Well, sort of an extension of 2) In regards to the Eastern Seaboard, a lot of times, ideal radiational cooling occurs as a cool high pressure settles in and during the day, the high pressure moves offshore and the return flow to southerly induces WAA ...

SF

[CaptinCrunch]

It was 80 degrees at 3pm here on 11/22/03 with a strong south wind 20 to 30 mph. 24 hrs later 11/23/03 it was 43 degrees with a strong north wind 20 to 30 mph and the temp was still falling.