The 60s in December, in Omaha? Sounds out of place doesn't it? For a month characterized by cold and snow, hitting the 60s in December is certainly rare. Tomorrow (Thursday, December 7, 2023) could be one of those days. We are looking at possibly breaking a record if our forecast holds. The record for December 7 is 61, that was set in 1918! For context, 1918 is when World War I ended. Our forecast high is 62, which would beat out the old record by 1 degree.
With the 60s on the horizon, how common is it for Omaha to reach 60 degrees in December?
This answer probably does not shock you, its fairly uncommon. Over the past 30 years, Omaha usually hits the 60s once every December. This is an average, meaning there are more years where we do not hit 60, and some years where we hit 60 more than once. For example, in 2021 Omaha reached the 60s in December 3 times! The most amount of 60s in December was in 1946 when we hit it 7 times, talk about a warm month!
If 60 is hard to hit, the 70s in December are even more rare. Since 1871, Omaha has only reached the 70s in December 4 times. If you recall, back on December 15, 2021, Omaha hit an all-time December record high of 74. Unfortunately, that brought along with it a major tornado outbreak with 32 tornadoes confirmed in the KMTV viewing area.
Looking ahead to January, the 60s are even more rare in January, with Omaha hitting the 60s during the month only a few times in the past decade. In 2012, we hit the 60s three times. So soak in the warm temperatures while you can, if you haven't gotten your holiday decorating done, today and tomorrow will be the best days to do them probably before the holidays.
