No surprise: Warm weather has set some records in Columbia

It probably won’t surprise Midlands residents to know that we came near – and broke – a few warm weather records over the holiday weekend.

Columbia set a record for a famously hot Christmas Eve this year, reaching 77 degrees.

That’s hotter than any year since 1887, according to data from the National Weather Service. Christmas Eve 1964 came in second, reaching 76 degrees.

Christmas Day didn’t set a record, but came in a close second at 78 degrees. The only Christmas to get hotter was 1955, which hit 79 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The day after Christmas also came in a close second, hitting 76 degrees and just barely falling short of 1964’s temp of 77.

At the other end of the spectrum, the coldest Christmas Day on record is that of 1983, which sank to 7 degrees – the only time the National Weather Service shows Columbia’s Christmas temps in single digits.

Highs are expected to remain in the mid- to high 70s through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

New Year’s Eve is expected to see a high in the upper 60s, with a strong chance of rain Thursday morning. It’s expected to stop by the time evening festivities kick in. Lows are expected around 50 degrees.