Photos: Another warm December day

The gift of summer in December is being recalled by its manufacturer.

Replacing it on the weather market shelves could be some much needed rain.

After allowing a record-high of 76 on Wednesday at the National Weather Service data station at Norfolk International Airport, Nature sent the mercury plunging.

By 5 p.m., it was 59 in Norfolk.

That drop caught many home-bound workers off guard who had left sweaters and jackets at home. But who could blame anyone for luxuriating in the warmth?

For six hours, beginning about 11 a.m., the temperature had been 71 or higher. The mercury lounged at or very near the day’s record for four hours, until just after 4 p.m.

That’s when temperatures dropped about 15 degrees in less than an hour as a cold front moved over the region.

Today will have much more the feel of the season with temperatures back in place for a typical December.

The record-high for Wednesday had been 75, set in 1931.

The new record came on the heels of another dose of unseasonable summer-like weather that saw a high of 78 on Monday. The record for that date had been 73 set in 1987.

Hampton Roads was not alone in enjoying temperatures Wednesday more typical to May or September than to December.

Other record highs set across the region, compared to the old records, included:

• Richmond, 77; 76 set in 1931.
• Wallops Island’s, 72; 70 set in 1985.
• Danville, 79; 69 set in 1985.
• Lynchburg, 76; 71 set in 1979.
• Blacksburg, 66; 64 set in 1979.
• Roanoke, 73; 72 set in 1979.
• Elizabeth City, N.C., 78; 74 set in 1949.
• Raleigh, N.C., 79; 74 set in 1996.
• Charlotte, N.C., 79; 76 set in 1931.
• Salisbury, Md.’s high of 70 tied the record set in 1946.

Today’s high in Norfolk is not expected to be anywhere near a record, topping out in the mid-60s. By Friday, the high should be in the upper 50s.

Based on readings over the three decades beginning in 1970, the average high at this time of year is 53 in Norfolk.

While the cold front that arrived Wednesday came without sparking any rain, forecasters expect some much-needed wet weather this weekend.

“Look for a general rain to overspread” the area Saturday afternoon, said Michael Rusnak, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Wakefield.

The weekend should not be a washout, however, with dry air pushing the rain aside “early Sunday with clearing skies and a gusty wind developing Sunday afternoon,” Rusnak said.

Here is the Hampton Roads forecast from the Weather Service:

Today Cloudy and much cooler with a slight chance of rain this morning, then a chance of rain this afternoon with a high in the mid 60s. The chance of rain is 40 percent.

Tonight Cloudy with a chance of rain in the evening, then partly cloudy after midnight with a low in the lower 50s.

Friday Mostly sunny with a high in the upper 50s. Cooler overnight with a low around 40.

Saturday Cloudy with a chance of rain in the afternoon and a high around 50. Windy with rain likely overnight and a low in the upper 40s.

Sunday Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers in the morning and a high around 50.

Steve Stone, (757) 446-2309, steve.stone@pilotonline.com