Late autumn
climate breaks
heat records

Records for high temperatures are shattering even as the official start to winter rapidly approaches.

Record highs were recorded on Dec. 11 by the National Weather Service reporting station at Grandfather Mountain.

The 62 degrees Fahrenheit broke the record of 57 set in 1979, and was only the 11th time December temperatures at the mile-high weather station broke 60 degrees.

On Dec. 10, a high of 57 broke the old record of 54, which was set in 1972. Wednesday’s temperature reached a high of 55 by press time. The weather station’s database goes back 51 years.

The National Weather Service in Blacksburg, Va., reported record highs around the region Wednesday, in some cases shattering old records by as many as 10 degrees.

Roanoke’s high was 79, breaking a 33-year-old record.

Temperatures in Boone reached the mid-60s Wednesday, with 64 the recorded high at a National Weather Service monitoring station at the Watauga Medical Center helipad.

Tuesday’s high was 71. Temperatures are expected to make a seasonal dip for the weekend, with a chance of snow and lows in the upper 20s.

— Scott Nicholson, staff writer