Temperatures may have took a small and brief dip in the Bay area and Central Florida during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, a quick warm up is happening Tuesday.
With a dry airmass in place and sunny skies, high should top out in the low to mid 70s most with sunshine.
That's quite a contrast to family and friends in other parts of the country, particularly New England and the Midwest.
The good news for many in the Northeast and Midwest was that it has been a white Christmas. The bad news was that a blizzard swept into parts of New England and bitter cold enveloped much of the Midwest.
Even the usually rainy Pacific Northwest got the white stuff. The National Weather Service says it’s only the sixth time since 1884 that downtown Portland had measurable snow — only an inch or two — on a Dec. 25.
A blizzard warning was issued Monday for portions of Maine and New Hampshire, with forecasters saying snow of up to 10 inches and wind gusts up to 50 mph could make travel “dangerous to impossible.”
States from Montana and the Dakotas to Wisconsin expected wind chill temperatures in places at 40 below zero. The upper half of Iowa and northern Illinois also braced for subzero temperatures.
Minnesota was experiencing its most frigid Christmas Day since 1996, with wind chills as cold as 35 degrees below zero, KSTP-TV reported. Officials warned that those whose skin was exposed in such conditions could get frostbite in as little as 15 minutes.
Snow amounts in the Midwest were not large for this time of year. A storm system that swept from Nebraska through Iowa dropped around 2 inches of snow on Chicago, forecasters said.
That was just enough to provide a picturesque backdrop for those gathering for Christmas dinners in the Chicago area. But it wasn’t enough to cause havoc either on roadway or airport runaways.
The harsh conditions likely could impact returning holiday travel.
Airport officials in both Tampa and St. Petersburg are advising travlers to check with their airlines before heading to the airport.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.