A warm weekend in the desert will usher in cool Christmas temps

The first day of winter—and shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere—will bring us a high temperature of 74 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Tucson.

At the same time, most of the rest of the country will top out at 60 degrees. Large swaths of the western U.S. will hardly rise above 40 degrees.

The Old Pueblo, on the other hand, has recorded unusually warm weather this December. Today's high is about 10 degrees above the norm and this month's average temperature so far is about 2½ degrees hotter than usual.

But temperatures will begin to slowly drop after today.

Christmas Eve is expected to reach 70 degrees.

And Santa Clause will usher in even cooler weather and possibly rain.

On Christmas day, the high is expected to be 66 degrees and breezy. And on Dec. 26 and 27, the high will hover around 55 degrees.

"That's well below normal," said Emily Carpenter, meteorologist at NWS Tucson, "almost a 20 degree swing from this week to next."

Valley rain and mountain snow is predicted for Tuesday night and Wednesday morning according to NWS Tucson.

As for tonight, the longest of the year, the temperatures will dip into the 40s.

The winter solstice sky is also hosting a nearly full moon and the Ursids meteor shower.

The full moon is actually tomorrow night, the same night the Ursids peak, so it is likely the moon will outshine many faint meteorites as they enter the atmosphere.

But if you're under dark skies, away from city lights, keep warm and bundle up. You might catch a different type of holiday lights.