Tucson had a warm Christmas Day, with Monday's high reaching 68 degrees, about four degrees above normal.
The sunshine and a gentle afternoon breeze saw people enjoying the outdoors, and carrying instead of wearing their sweaters and coats.
Visitors to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum found the sun satisfying. Eager children informed their parents of the javelina family's hang-out — in the shade, and crowds gathered to watch a live show featuring Harris hawks.
"It's hot," said Sam Yinn, 9, toting a water bottle and wearing his jacket around his waist.
"It's beautiful," said Shirley Yin, his mother. The Wisconsin family was visiting friends in Tucson.
The warm day had a freezing cold start. The low Sunday night was 29 degrees, about nine degrees below normal, said Jeff Davis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tucson.
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Meteorologists predict a storm system will move into the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday, sending high clouds and a small chance of rain. There will be a 20 percent to 30 percent chance of rain Wednesday and Thursday, Davis said.
The winter so far has been drier than expected, Davis said, and even though Tucson had a wet summer, the area is still below normal on rainfall. We have had 11.27 inches of rain in 2006. Normal is 11.96 inches. Last year was worse with 9.57 inches by this time.
Davis said it's beginning to look like El Niño will start us off in the new year. Storms are staying to the south, which could be the early signs of El Niño. The Climate Prediction Center has said El Niño will stick around through May 2007.
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