Oh, the weather outside is frightfully warmer than what you’d expect in December.
For weeks, the ºüÀêÊÓƵ region has consistently seen temperatures that are far toastier than average for this late stage of the year. That trend continued on Christmas Eve and was likely to do the same on Christmas Day, with balmy temperatures reaching 20 to nearly 30 degrees higher than normal.
The mercury spiked into the 70s on Christmas Eve — hitting 73 degrees Fahrenheit, which tied a record set in 1889, the National Weather Service confirmed in a tweet Friday afternoon. It's expected to be in the mid-60s on Christmas Day, according to the National Weather Service’s regional forecast office.Â
ºüÀêÊÓƵ just climbed to 73° and tied the daily record temperature first set on this date in 1889.
— NWS ºüÀêÊÓƵ (@NWSStLouis)
That would fall just a few degrees short of the record temperature for Christmas Day in ºüÀêÊÓƵ, which also was set in 1889. On that day, it reached 71 degrees. “We’re in the ballpark,†said Jared Maples, a local weather service meteorologist.
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The Christmas Eve and Christmas Day temperatures far exceed the typical highs of 42 or 43 degrees for both dates, based on 30-year averages observed from 1990 to 2020. The expected temperatures were also warmer than the projected highs in San Diego on the same days.
While the record highs for both dates occurred 132 years ago, ºüÀêÊÓƵ-area residents are likely getting used to some warm December days. Just two years ago, in 2019, Christmas temperatures hit 70, narrowly missing the record. The region’s next-warmest Christmas came in 1936, with a recorded high of 67.
On five days this month, temperatures have hit 70 degrees or higher, the weather service tweeted on Friday. That also ties an 1889 record for the most 70-degree days in a December.Â
The warmth blanketing the ºüÀêÊÓƵ area matches broader trends that span a huge chunk of the continental U.S., where anomalous and sometimes record-setting warm spells have been widespread and regular occurrences in recent weeks.
Actually, “warm temperatures were a persistent theme across the Midwest throughout the fall,†says a new for the region, released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Overall, the report said it was the Midwest’s sixth-warmest fall, dating back to 1895.
The regional trends mirror those globally, as greenhouse gas emissions from human activities warm the planet and cause accelerating changes to the climate.
In ºüÀêÊÓƵ, average annual temperatures have over the past 70 years. And the most extreme heat has come in the last decade.
That heat can affect seasons differently throughout the year, but in most of the country — including in Missouri — according to analysis from Climate Central.
Around ºüÀêÊÓƵ, it’s been a bleak run for those who enjoy a white Christmas — something the National Weather Service tallies. There must be at least a half-inch of snow on the ground on Dec. 25 for it to qualify as one.
Over the past 20 years, ºüÀêÊÓƵ has only had five Christmases that meet the criteria. And 2017 stands as the area’s only white Christmas in the last decade.
This holiday season, it’s not just Christmas that’s missing snow. So far, the ºüÀêÊÓƵ area has not seen any measurable snowfall — only some trace amounts and “little flurries†in certain places, Maples said.
None of it has been observed at ºüÀêÊÓƵ Lambert International Airport. That’s approaching historic territory, since the only time when the location saw absolutely no snow in all of December came 50 years ago, in 1971.
Despite the region’s warm start to winter, Maples said that at least some short-term change might be coming, along with the new year.
“Overall, it looks like a cooler pattern that we’ll be getting into in January,†he said. “It looks like a fairly gradual downward glide.â€
Updated at 4 p.m. with details on the temperatures reached Christmas Eve.
As we head through the Holiday Weekend, much of the country will see above normal highs and record warmth for some locations. However, a stark contrast is in store for the Northern Plains and Northwest where highs will trend below freezing, with some even below zero by Monday!
— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC)