Shorts instead of sweaters? Millions of Americans could have warmer Christmas than Halloween this year

Millions of Americans could have warmer Christmas than Halloween this year

Millions of Americans are forecast to experience temperatures on Christmas that are warmer than what they had on Halloween.

According to FOX Weather Senior Weather Data Specialist Shane Brown, about 234 million people in the U.S. will see high temperatures that are at least 5 degrees above the Christmas average.

A stand with Christmas jumpers seen in a busy Henry Street in Dublin city center. On Friday, December 18, 2020, in Dublin, Ireland.

(Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Brown said the forecast calls for a high of 55 degrees in Denver on Christmas. That would be 11 degrees warmer than that 44-degree high the Mile High City experienced on Halloween.

In Atlanta, the contrast is a bit more subdued. Brown said the forecast calls for a high of 65 degrees on Christmas. That would be 2 degrees warmer than the 63-degree high the ATL recorded on Halloween.

Some of the warmest places in the country on Christmas will be in Florida and Texas, according to Brown. Abilene, Texas, is forecast to hit 83 degrees on Saturday – 6 degrees warmer than Halloween. Gainesville, Florida is forecast to reach 77 degrees on Saturday – 13 degrees warmer than Halloween.

(FOX Weather)

Brown said that while the warmer-than-Halloween phenomenon is uncommon, it is not unprecedented.

"If you look over the past 50 years, Nashville has achieved this feat just twice, as have St. Louis, San Antonio, Memphis and Baton Rouge," Brown said. "Atlanta, Houston, and New Orleans have done it three times. On the flip side, Denver has done it 14 times, Jacksonville 10 times, and Dallas 8."

In addition to the warmer-than-Halloween temperatures, several places across the South are forecast to tie their Halloween temperature on Christmas, according to Brown. This includes places such as Beaumont, Texas; Asheville, North Carolina; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Hattiesburg, Mississippi and Knoxville, Tennessee.

Where will it be cooler?

Brown said dozens of cities across America are forecast to experience temperatures that are below what was recorded on Halloween, but not by much.

For example, Birmingham, Alabama, is forecast to reach a high of 66 degrees on Christmas. That is two degrees below the high of 68 recorded there on Halloween. Miami is forecast to hit 81 degrees on Christmas, compared to the high of 84 degrees recorded on Halloween.

Year-over-year expected to be warmer, too

(FOX Weather)

Even more people across the U.S. will experience a warmer Christmas than they did last year.

Brown said most of the central and eastern U.S. and parts of the western U.S. will see temperatures above what was recorded during last Christmas.