\n<\/p>\n
January 8, 2026<\/p>\n
2 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n January Feels More Like Summer in Some U.S. States. Here\u2019s Why<\/p>\n An area of high pressure is bringing record-high heat to some parts of the U.S., with an added boost from climate change<\/p>\n By Andrea Thompson edited by Claire Cameron<\/span><\/p>\n A map of temperatures forecast for the contiguous U.S. on January 8, 2026.<\/p>\n It\u2019s January, which typically means heating bills go up as the temperature goes down. But for some people in the U.S. South, the demand will be for more air-conditioning, as temperatures soar 20 to 35 degrees Fahrenheit (11 to 19 degrees Celsius) above average\u2014and even to record-breaking heights in some spots.<\/p>\n The unseasonal heat stems from an area of high pressure moving across the eastern U.S., pulling in warm air from the south and the record-breaking warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n The first records started to occur as a result of the weather system on Tuesday, with a high of 82 degrees F (28 degrees C) in Houston, Tex., 74 degrees F (23 degrees C) in Tulsa, Okla., and 81 degrees F (27 degrees C) in Baton Rouge, La.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n Wide swaths of the eastern U.S. will see temperatures well above average\u2014and some could set records. In the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, temperatures could even reach into the 90s F (mid-30s C). Brian Hurley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service\u2019s Weather Prediction Center, says that 31 stations across that area could set records or come close. \u201cThat\u2019s significant,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n The nights will be particularly hotter than normal\u2014a hallmark of global warming. Overnight lows are rising twice as fast as daytime highs, according to Climate Central, a nonprofit research and news organization.<\/p>\n Climate Central\u2019s Climate Shift Index tool calculates that the high temperatures seen during this January heat event have been made anywhere from 1.5 to five times more likely because of climate change, depending on the day and location.<\/p>\n The system follows hot on the heels of a heat wave that passed across the southern U.S. at the end of last year; December 25, 2025\u2019s average high temperature for the contiguous U.S. was the hottest Christmas Day on record by a margin of three degrees F (1.7 degrees C). That may sound minimal, but it\u2019s a considerable amount to set a record by, especially over such a large area.<\/p>\n This latest heat will be short-lived; a cold front will sweep across the U.S. ahead of a low-pressure system. Temperatures in the wake of the front are expected to return to normal.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" January 8, 2026 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm January Feels More Like Summer in Some U.S. States. Here\u2019s Why An area of high pressure is bringing record-high heat to some parts of the U.S., with an added boost from climate change By Andrea Thompson edited by Claire Cameron A map of temperatures<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[1515,104,16178,251,122,5123],"class_list":{"0":"post-40945","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-breaking","9":"tag-heat","10":"tag-january","11":"tag-records","12":"tag-south","13":"tag-wave"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s Time to Stand Up for Science<\/h2>\n