200712solstice.jpgThree days of gloomy overcast skies finally ended early this morning. You may not have noticed but last night's breezy storm managed to briefly warm us up to 61 degrees at 10:20 pm. More impressively, well, for a weather geek like Gothamist, the dew point peaked at 56, which is normal for July but a rarity for December.

Several hours later the dew point had fallen into the teens, as a weak high pressure system cleared the skies. Today should be windy and brilliantly sunny, with a high in the upper 40s. Rudolph can take the night off as the clear skies will continue through Wednesday, and none of those kids that are going to see a couple feet of lake effect snow upstate were all that good this year anyway. Highs on Christmas Day and Wednesday will be in the lower- to mid-40s. The light weather week is expected to continue until at least Friday. A few clouds may make an appearance but temperatures should run slightly warmer than normal for the rest of the week.

Photo of the winter solstice via NASA.