WEATHER

Mid-60s temperatures in December? Grab your clubs and hit the links ... if you can find a tee time.

Des Moines Register

Jim Gallagher of Indianola tees off at Willow Creek Golf Course on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, in West Des Moines. Temperatures in the mid-60s, nearly 30 degrees above average for Dec. 1 in central Iowa and close to the record high of 66 set in 1970, drew hundreds of golfers to Willow Creek on Wednesday. Course officials said tee times were fully booked Wednesday and Thursday, when temperatures are again expected to be in the mid-60s.

The calendar may read Dec. 1, but Wednesday felt more like a nice spring day in Iowa.

Wednesday's forecast high of 64 degrees was just two degrees shy of a record set in 1970. Thursday's forecast high of 66 degrees would be just one degree shy of the record of 67 degrees set on Dec. 2, 1973.

Des Moines' Willow Creek Golf Course's tee times were fully booked Wednesday and Thursday, which is about 50 groups each day.

High pressure in the western United States is the cause of near-record-breaking temperatures to kick off December, according to a National Weather Service forecast. The forecasted highs were expected to be 25-30 degrees above average for much of the northern and central plains states, according to the NWS.

Mason City and Waterloo also saw above-average temperatures in November — Mason City saw an average high of 47 degrees in November. The average high is 43.6 degrees there. Waterloo had an average high of 50.4 degrees. Its average November high is 47.1 degrees. Sioux City even hit a record of 70 degrees on Monday, according to the NWS.

Wednesday marked the first day of meteorological winter. But for much of November, fall felt more like spring.

November's average high in Des Moines was 52.1 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The city's typical November average high is 48.3 degrees.

Des Moines hit 60 degrees or more eight times in November, the most recent coming on Monday, when the city hit a high of 64 degrees. December will start just as warm.

Much of Iowa was in a drought this summer, but a wet fall brought relief to much of the state. Des Moines got 6.3 inches of rain in October, 2.78 inches more than average.

Through Nov. 30, Des Moines has usually received 3.2 inches of snow, according to the NWS. But Des Moines recorded just a trace of snow through Tuesday. Another trace fell in the early hours Wednesday.

The unseasonably warm weather is expected to end this weekend: Friday has a forecast high of 56 degrees. Saturday has a forecast high of 44 degrees. Sunday has a forecast high of 51 degrees.

Philip Joens covers breaking news for The Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-443-3347 at pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.