WASHINGTON — This mild month has become, far and away, the warmest December on record in D.C.

The average temperature this month has been 51.2 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. That’s far above the previous records for warmest D.C. Decembers, at an average of 45.6 degrees, in both 1889 and 1984.

D.C. December temperatures

“We’ve enjoyed many warm days,” explains meteorologist Bryan Jackson, with the National Weather Service.

“Even the last few days that have been very wet, it has not gotten very cold at night, so the average temperature has stayed up.”

The weather records for D.C. date back to 1871.