ST. LOUIS — A little over a week after a half a foot or more of snow fell in parts of the area, temperatures are expected to soar to near 70° on Christmas Day. While most of the snow has melted in the metro St. Louis area, visible satellite pictures still show some snow cover east of the city in Illinois. Temperatures in Illinois have lagged behind the Missouri warmth as the sun's energy has been used to melt the snow.
Highs on Tuesday, Christmas Eve, are expected to again reach the mid 60s in St. Louis. As most of the rest of the snow melts to the east, highs will likely stay in the 50s.
Tuesday travel should be uneventful as far as the weather goes. No rain is expected through Thursday across Missouri and Illinois although there will likely be some morning fog in Illinois where snow is still on the ground.
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Christmas morning will feature temperatures already in the 30s to mid 40s, and with a decent amount of sunshine, will rise into the mid and upper 60s. The record high temperature of 71° in St. Louis was set way back in 1889. More recently, just three years ago, highs were in the mid 60s.
Christmas weather out west will be much more active. Rain and mountain snow is expected with the colder air being held well north and west of St. Louis through the remainder of the week.
Unsettled and cooler weather will return to Missouri and Illinois by the weekend. Rain chances increase by Saturday into Saturday night and begin to diminish on Sunday. Closer to, but still above, average temperatures are expected as we end 2019.