Miami experiences its hottest day in 24 years

February 20, 2012 – MIAMI – It didn’t feel much like February this weekend — even for South Floridians. Sunday saw record-breaking high temperatures in Miami: 87, beating the record of 86 set in 1957 and tied in 1988. Fort Lauderdale also reached 87, but didn’t break its long-held record of 89 degrees. These highs are unseasonable; normally, temperatures don’t break 80 this time of year. But the thousands of northern tourists who flooded the area for the Miami International Boat Show and Coconut Grove Arts Festival probably aren’t complaining too much. For those who don’t like the summery weather, relief should be here soon. A cold front is set to move in, bringing highs into the mid-70s on Monday and sending lows to the mid-60s Monday night. Temperatures are expected to climb gradually through the week; they could reach the low 80s by Thursday. “It’s going to warm up again, but this will just be a nice change from today,” said Bob Ebaugh, a specialist with the National Weather Service in Miami-Dade. –Miami Herald

Other parts of U.S. in deep freeze: A winter storm has dumped several inches of snow on a band of southern states, triggering accidents on slippery roads and knocking out power to tens of thousands. The storm brought wet snow on Sunday to parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. In northern Tennessee, about 20 vehicles were involved in crashes along a three-mile stretch of Interstate 75 during what authorities described as ‘white out’ conditions Sunday afternoon. Police said a juvenile was seriously injured. Dozens of wrecks were also reported in North Carolina as well as in Virginia, where the northbound lanes of Interstate 95 were shut down following a crash that critically injured one man. Appalachian Power was reporting that 52,000 customers were without power Sunday night in central and southern Virginia, as well as West Virginia. –Daily Mail