Not the Warmest Christmas on Record, But Close

It wasn’t a white Christmas. It wasn’t even close.

In fact, temperatures in the Philadelphia region on Thursday, Dec. 25, were nearly the warmest on record.

“Most areas hit their high for the day just after midnight [Dec. 25],” the National Weather Service said. “Very warm but not quite record-breaking.”

The high in Philadelphia on Thursday was 65 degrees, which was at 2:08 a.m. The record-high temperature of 68 was set in 1964, the National Weather Service said.

“Snow coverage is more than one standard deviation below average,” the NWS said of Christmas Day. “Scrooge won this year.”

The Philadelphia region received trace amounts of snow on Christmas Eve 2013, the NWS said, and about 0.2 inches of snow on Christmas Eve 2012. However, the last time the region had any measurable snow depth on Christmas Day was 2009, when there were 8 inches on the ground Dec. 25.

It will be sunny with highs around 50 on Friday, the NWS said; lows Friday night will reach the low 30s. Saturday will be clear and sunny with highs in the 50s and lows in the high 30s. There’s a 50 percent chance of rain Sunday, with highs still in the 50s. But the unseasonable warmth won’t last; there’s a chance of snow Monday.