From the entire StormTracker Weather team, we hope you and your family had a joyous Christmas! It certainly was a great weather day across the Bluegrass. We all enjoyed a sunny and warm Christmas Day. If an outdoorsy gift found its way under your Christmas tree, yesterday was a perfect day to take your present for a spin.
It wasn't just a warm Christmas, it was one of our warmest Christmas Days ever. Lexington recorded a high of 69°. That was just one degree shy of the record that was set in 1982. For Lexington's previous warm Christmases we have to look back to the 1800s and early 20th century.
Lexington wasn't the only city that experienced one of the warmest Christmas Days. Heat Miser brought an incredibly warm Christmas to the Southeast and parts of the Midwest. Chicago recorded the city's warmest Christmas in over 100 years. Meanwhile, California of all places had some of the best chances for a white Christmas, in the higher elevations that is. There was heavy snow in the Grand Canyon and rain for the first time in 10 years on Christmas in Phoenix.
This December warmth will hang around. It's the gift that keeps on giving if you will. High temperatures will be in the low and mid 60s through the weekend. It will take a big storm system late this weekend to cool things down. Widespread soaking rain will arrive Saturday night and exit by Monday morning. It the wake of the system it will turn much cooler. Even as the chillier air arrives next week, temperatures will trend closer to "normal." Highs will be pushed back into the 40s to end 2019 and begin the new year. For the winter fans out there, the season is just getting started. We still have opportunities for cold shots and snow in January and February, even in March.
