High pressure, which is responsible for our record-breaking warmth, will start to decline to the southeast through the next several days. A trough of more mild and moist air starts to push against the West Coast tomorrow.

PHOENIX — A daily heat record that has stood for over a century was broken on Monday, the second day in a row Phoenix has seen record-breaking heat.

Arizonans dreaming of a white Christmas will likely have to settle for rain this year as warm temperatures persist. A storm system off the West Coast is expected to funnel moisture into the state later this week, giving much of Arizona chances for rain around Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Since NWS began official weather recording in 1896, Phoenix’s high temperature on Christmas has been, on average, 64.7 degrees. Last year, the maximum temperature reached 70 degrees on Christmas Day, and the year before, it was 64 degrees. Phoenix’s coldest Dec. 25 was in 1953, when the temperature was a chilly 27 degrees.

The city of Phoenix broke an 83-year-old daily heat record on Monday, the second day in a row with a new high temperature.

In Phoenix, afternoon highs are climbing into the upper 70s and low 80s over the weekend, flirting with daily record highs more typical of late spring than mid-December. Even Flagstaff is feeling the heat, with temperatures pushing into the mid-60s, up to 20 degrees above normal.

With heavy rainfall in the forecast, Christmas travel could prove a challenge for those going from Phoenix to Southern California.