High temperature records set Friday in Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus

Credit: Marshall Gorby

Credit: Marshall Gorby

A winter heat wave!

High temperature records were set Friday in Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

The high reached 63 degrees in Dayton, which tied the record set in 1972.

The high reached 65 degrees in Cincinnati, which tied the record set in 1964 and 1875.

The high reached 65 degrees in Columbus, which broke the record of 63 degrees set in 1964.

Conditions are dramatically different from the previous Friday, when Dayton on Dec. 23 broke a low temperature record of minus 9 degrees and wind chills, or the “feels like” temperature, were well below zero across the region.

A rapid warmup has melted the several inches of snow left by a winter storm that also brought bone-chilling cold.

The average high temperature for this time of year is about 38 degrees, said James Gibson, a meteorologist from the NWS Wilmington office.

The unusually warm weather will continue into the first few days of the new year but is expected to return to normal by Thursday.

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