Unusual Warmth in the Northwest: Records Broken in Lewiston and Pullman

The Northwest is seeing some strange weather. On Wednesday, Lewiston reached a surprisingly warm 65 degrees. This broke the old record for that date, which was 62 degrees set way back in 1968. Pullman also saw a record high of 59 degrees, beating the previous record of 57 degrees from 1939. Even Grangeville hit 57 degrees, which is unusually warm for this time of year. So, what's causing this warm spell? Meteorologists say it's all thanks to an atmospheric river. This river in the sky is bringing warm, wet air from near the equator to the East Side of the Cascades. This warm air acts like a blanket, keeping temperatures high and preventing them from dropping at night. The snow level is also much higher than usual, sitting around 8, 000 feet. While Wednesday was the warmest day of the week, the warm and wet weather is expected to stick around until the end of the year. This warm weather might feel nice, but it's not normal for December. It's a reminder of how weather patterns can change and how important it is to pay attention to these shifts. It's also a good time to think about how these changes might affect the environment and our daily lives.