Christmas Day 2019 was the second warmest Christmas on record for the region, the National Weather Service said.
Wednesday was just one degree cooler than the 66-degree record high set 126 years ago at the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
Meteorologist Myron Padgett of the National Weather Service office in Wilmington said the region’s recent spring-like temperatures are due to a high pressure system allowing winds to blow in from the south, which have kept the arctic winds of the north at bay.
“That air we normally see from Canada and the arctic has been shifted north,” Padgett said. “It hasn’t been able to move down toward us at this point, so we’ve been enjoying a warm period, but it’s not going to last too much longer.”
On Christmas Day 2019, both Cincinnati and Dayton challenged the Christmas Day 1893 record high. Cincinnati topped out at 65 degrees, and Dayton plateaued at 62 degrees by mid-afternoon.
Padgett said the average for this time of the year is about 20 degrees colder with highs around the 40-degree mark and lows in the mid to upper 20s.
Padgett advised area residents to enjoy the current taste of spring—things will change for New Year’s.
“It’s going to cool off, but we’re not looking at anything on the real cold side,” he said. “We’ll return to what is normal for this time of the year and maybe even remain a little bit above normal for the days after New Year’s.”
Padgett said the forecast for the days leading up to the arrival of 2020 is calling for a wet but mild weekend with gradual clearing on Monday and a drop in temperatures.
New Year’s Eve should be mostly sunny with a high only reaching approximately 40 degrees. Partly cloudy skies and a high in the mid-40s are predicted for Jan. 1, 2020.
Reach Tim Colliver at 937-402-2571
