The Greenwood area is dealing with chilly weather at the start of the new year, but December was unseasonably warm and broke records, according to the National Weather Service.
Last month’s average temperature of 60.1 degrees was the warmest December in the Greenwood area on record since record-keeping began in 1948. It surpassed the average of 56.9 degrees in December 2015.
Also, four dates last month were ranked within the top 10 warmest dates for December.
On Dec. 10, 2021, the warmest December date on record, the temperature reached 85 degrees. New Year’s Eve ranked sixth with a high of 82 degrees, tied with the high reached on Dec. 9, 2007.
Dec. 29 and Dec. 28 of last year, along with Dec. 26, 2016, were the eighth-, ninth- and 10th-warmest December dates on record, respectively, at 81 degrees.
By comparison, the average coolest December daytime temperatures in the Greenwood area have ranged from 35.8 degrees, recorded in 1963, to 42 degrees in 2010. The coldest December lows ranged from 2 degrees, recorded on Dec. 23, 1989, to 11 degrees, recorded on Dec. 21, 1989.
Greenwood was not the only Mississippi city to have its warmest December average, according to the National Weather Service.
Greenville had a record average December temperature of 59.2 degrees, last month, surpassing the mark of 56.7 degrees from 1984. Jackson’s average was 60.5 degrees, beating its former record of 58.3 degrees from 2015 and 1984.
Even New Year’s Day in Greenwood broke the record for the warmest January date with a temperature of 84 degrees, surpassing the previous record of 82, set on Jan. 24, 1972.
The weather in the Greenwood area has cooled off considerably in recent days, with the temperature ranging from the mid-20s to the low 40s, light snow and some rain.
According to the National Weather Service, the Greenwood area is expected to have a high of 57 degrees Wednesday and a low of 38 degrees with a 50% chance of showers after midnight.
Thursday’s forecast calls for a high of 48 degrees, with a 30% chance of showers, and a low of 22.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
