Santa could be delivering record warmth in southern US this Christmas

02:20

Potential record high temperatures on Christmas Eve

The southern to southeast U.S. could see record high temperatures on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

For people who love winter and the snow and colder air that comes along with it, we've got some disappointing news but if Christmas dinner on the grill sounds good, you're in luck. 

A ridge of high pressure over Mexico will continue to funnel warm air into the Southwest and the Plains for the rest of the week, potentially putting more records in jeopardy by Christmas.

The jet stream is sitting well to the north, which is allowing for those warmer temperatures to expand across a larger area. It's also helping a barrage of storms to impact the western U.S., including the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada.

As the high-pressure system heads east, that will bring in the warmer temperatures to a large part of the southern and southeastern United States by this weekend.

That means places like Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama all the way north into Kentucky and Tennessee will see temperatures far above average for this time of year.

The setup started Wednesday as a high-pressure system sitting over western Mexico warmed areas in the South like Phoenix, Dallas and El Paso, Texas, with temperatures about 10 degrees above average. That warm air will also be felt as far north as Casper, Wyoming, and Pierre, South Dakota.

Mostly dry conditions will persist and as temperatures climb, the fire danger is expected to increase in parts of Wyoming and New Mexico.

Christmas Eve record temperatures forecast

(FOX Weather)

On Christmas Eve, temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees above average will move into places like Little Rock, Arkansas, St. Louis and even into Minneapolis/St. Paul. 

It will feel more like spring and summer by Christmas, where cities across the central and southern U.S. could be breaking records. 

Dallas will be into the mid-80s Saturday, and that would break the record of 80 degrees set in 2016. The same is true in Houston, where it should get to about 81 degrees, 1 degree shy of tying with a 1955 record high.

On Christmas Eve, Kansas City, Missouri, is expected to break its old record of 66 degrees when the city closes in on 72 degrees in the afternoon.

The warming trend across the South will continue Sunday and Monday.