By Mack Callahan
If you stepped outside in Topeka this morning and thought you’d wandered into June instead of late December, you’re not alone. The thermometer’s flirting with trifling temperatures that have more in common with lazy Memorial Day afternoons than the final stretch of 2025. It’s the kind of weather that makes you reconsider your holiday sweater purchase and wonder whether summer packed up early — or winter simply hit the wrong exit ramp.
This morning, patchy fog swirled over the city at about 49 degrees, leaving dew on the grass and confusion in the minds of commuters. But the fog is expected to give way to partly sunny skies — and highs approaching the mid-60s — twice in a row. That’s right: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are shaping up more like backyard barbecue weather than a classic Kansas winter. Wednesday should see temperatures climb into the low-to-mid 60s, with Thursday not far behind — even flirting with record warmth for this time of year. Friday keeps the trend going with more sun and temps solidly in the mid-60s as well. https://www.wibw.com
In other words, if someone put a lawn chair out in front of the Capitol this week, it wouldn’t look completely out of place — only mildly unsettling.
This warmth isn’t just anybody’s imagination. Local meteorologists are calling it above-normal temperatures with a dry pattern, meaning most of us can laugh in the face of our usual December wind chill. The forecast is consistently mild with breezy sunshine and no serious storm systems on the immediate horizon. https://www.wibw.com
Now, before the climate-anxiety crowd starts sending me eco-ledgers and yelling about “global warming,” let’s be clear: a warm stretch in December isn’t unprecedented. But it is unusual enough that it makes you pause when your neighbor is mowing the lawn between pumpkin pie and eggnog.
So what should Topekans do with this pocket of pleasant? Here’s a short playbook:
1. Take advantage of it.
Walk the dog without bundling in so many layers that they resemble a human burrito. Sit outside on a patio. Heck, break out those sunglasses early.
2. Don’t bank on it lasting.
Weather’s fickle in Kansas, and seasonal mood swings are part of the deal. This week feels like summer, but winter always sends a reminder before the season’s through.
3. Enjoy the conversation piece.
When someone asks, “Cold enough for you?” you can instead say, “Warm enough for you?” and genuinely mean it.
Topeka’s weather is currently doing that rare thing: making us feel as if the calendar lost a page somewhere. Whether this is climate foreshadowing or just a rogue stretch of sublime skies, one thing’s certain — for a few days at least, it’s beginning to feel a lot like summer.
