Heat Wave Melts New England's Snow

This image shows the total snow melt in New England from March 1-21, 2012. CREDIT: NOAA View full size image

Temperatures have been soaring to record highs across the eastern United States in recent weeks, and in New England, the unseasonably warm weather has been rapidly melting winter's snows.

Chicago has seen eight record highs in as many days as of Wednesday, while International Falls, Minn., the self-described "Icebox of the Nation" and one of the coldest places on Earth, broke record highs in 11 out of 12 days. The town's low temperatures have been higher than previous record highs.

Boston, Providence, R.I., Portland, Maine, and Burlington, Vt., have all seen record highs already today (March 22), according to The Weather Channel's Mike Seidel.

All that heat has been taking its toll on the snow that accumlated this winter across New England. The above image show the amount of snow that has melted (in terms of inches of water) from March 1 through March 21, using data from the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center.