Warm Christmas Eve sets record

They also advise snow enthusiasts planning to make the drive into the mountains Christmas Day to bring chains, warm clothing, extra snacks and water and a way to keep their cell phones charged.

The typical daytime highs run in the low 40s.

But that’s the word Western Mass News Meteorologist Jacob Wycoff used when he forecasted a record-warm day across the state for the day before Christmas.

A record high for Christmas Eve in Syracuse was broken while you slept.

To qualify as an official white Christmas, there must be one inch of snow on the ground at 7 a.m. on Christmas Day.

It’s forecast to be warmer in Albany, N.Y. But it was 71 and as of mid-day Christmas Eve and was going to be a relatively comfortable 58 overnight, according to AccuWeather.com.

A couple walks by the Hudson River shore on Christmas Eve in Newport, New Jersey. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47.

“This combination of rain, snow and wind will make for potentially hazardous conditions for holiday travel”, the outlook said.

In Los Angeles, locals are breaking out their winter coats, scarves and umbrellas this week instead of sunglasses.

“Ironically, it’s the first year we had rented the warming hut”, said Camille Gartner, who was part of the group, expected to reach up to 80 people spanning four generations. Both items would come in handy normally in late December, but not this year, when temperatures were expected to rise into the 70s on Thursday.

In Phoenix, Arizona, it’s only 64 degrees – chilly for a state that boasts year-round sun and warm weather.

It’s a similar story in many other parts of the country Christmas Eve, where temperatures are expected to be 10 to 15 degrees above normal across central and eastern Canada.

This photo was taken in Payson, Arizona, a town about 90 miles from Phoenix, where the high today is 46.

There is a slight chance of a spotty shower Thursday evening, and that rain could change to light snow west of the city, but accumulations would be minimal.