There have only been 8 Christmases with high temperatures in the 50s since official records began back in 1871, but this year is likely to produce the ninth.

We’ll easily end up with one of the city’s top 10 warmest Christmases on record this Wednesday. There simply haven’t been many mild periods as warm as this during December, like Monday’s surges into the 50s.

A windshift off the lake will keep cool air coming into the region into Tuesday, but winds will veer back to southerly on Wednesday. And so we’ll return to abnormal early winter “warmth” for Christmas, which is looking to be the mildest here since at least 1994, when the high hit 52 degrees.

But the pattern may well offer another interesting meteorological turn this coming weekend, as a powerful winter storm spins up and sweeps into the Midwest.

Whether it sets a record or not, abnormally mild days ahead ensure there will be no snow for Christmas. While it’s less picturesque, it’s a boon to late holiday shoppers and to travelers during this busy holiday period.

For the latest forecast and more visit wgntv.com/weather.