Christmas: Part of region has chance to break or tie record high from 1890s

There is no white Christmas in the forecast this year, but the high temperature for part of the region could break or tie a nearly 130-year-old record.

The forecast calls for showers and possibly an afternoon thunderstorm, followed by a chance of showers into the evening hours.

The high temperature is expected near near 62 in Dayton, and near 61 in Columbus, and in Cincinnati the high could reach 66 degrees — the record highest Christmas Day temperature set in 1893, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

Skies will remain mostly cloudy Saturday night with an overnight low temperature around 40 degrees.

The high and low temperatures expected for this year far exceed the norm for Christmas Day in the region.

The normal high temperature is 36 is Dayton, 39 in Cincinnati and 36 in Columbus. The normal low is 22 in Dayton, 25 in Cincinnati, and 23 in Columbus.

The hottest Christmas Day was 65 in Dayton and 64 in Columbus, each recorded in 1893, which is the first year temperatures were recorded for Dayton.

Luckily, there is no concern the region will shatter the lowest temperature record this year.

The coldest Christmas Day was minus 13 in Dayton and minus 12 in Cincinnati and Columbus, all recorded in 1983.

The record Christmas Day rainfall is 0.82 inches in Dayton in 1957; 1.12 inches in Cincinnati in 1957; and 0.79 inches in Columbus in 2009.

For this year, rainfall between one-tenth and one-quarter inch is expected for Christmas Day, the NWS said.

The most snowfall ever recorded on Christmas Day was 5.2 inches in Dayton in 1909; 3.7 inches in Cincinnati in 1909; and 7 inches in Columbus in 1890.

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