It Was 67 in Alaska on Sunday. Yep, That's a Record

"In late December. I would not have thought such a thing possible." So tweeted an Alaska-based climate specialist Monday in regards to the recent temps in that state, but it's a sentiment that could be more broadly applied. A flurry of weather records have been set in the waning days of 2021. Among them:

• The New York Times reports it was 67 degrees on Kodiak Island, Alaska, on Sunday, a statewide record for the highest temp recorded in the state in December. The temp nudged past 60 again on Monday before falling into the 50s on Tuesday.

• The Chicago Tribune reports Tuesday's snow (1.5 inches of snow were recorded at O’Hare International Airport as of 5pm) was the first measurable snow in the city this winter. That's the latest date on record a "first snow" has occurred there. The previous record of Dec. 20 was set in 2012, reports NBC Chicago, which notes that on average, the first measurable snow falls in the city of Nov. 18.
• The National Weather Service tweeted that the country recorded a new hottest Christmas Day temp on record, with Rio Grande Village, Texas, hitting 94 degrees.
• And with just a few days left in the year, more records could fall. Accuweather notes that if temps hit 73 and 70 degrees in Memphis and Nashville, respectively, on Wednesday, it'll do away with "daily high-temperature records from 1889."

(More weather stories.)