Posted: Tue, 21 Dec 2010 01:13 PM - 13,351 Readers

By: Claudia Grisales

In Central Texas, even the first official day of winter is hot.

The National Weather Service is forecasting potential record heat for today, which marks the start of winter.

Today, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is expected to reach 84 degrees, which is above the a record 81 that was reached in 1970, said meteorologist Chris Morris. The same record stands at Camp Mabry, which is forecast for a high of 81 degrees today, Morris said.

This morning, we should see fog clear up for partly sunny skies later this afternoon, the service said. Tonight, we should see a chance for drizzle and a low of 59, and overcast skies, Morris said.

In the coming days, we’ll see highs in the 70s and lows in the low 60s to high 50s by Thursday, the service said. A slight, 20 percent chance for rain will also show up in the forecast Thursday evening, the service said.

We’ll also see winds pick up by Thursday to gusts of up to 20 miles per hour, the service said.

By Friday, Christmas Eve, we’ll start to see temperatures drop again, with a high near 63 and a low that evening of 32 degrees with wind gusts of up to 20 miles per hour, the service said.

On Saturday, Christmas day, we’re slated to see a high of 53 under sunny skies, with wind gusts of up to 20 miles per hour and a low that evening of 27 under clear skies, the service said.