By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The month of December began with temperatures decidedly un-winterlike in Hays.

Sunday’s official high was 69 degrees as recorded at the KSU Agricultural Research Center south of town. That was considerably warmer than it was one year ago on Dec. 3 when the high was a more normal 52 degrees. The daytime highs in Hays since Friday, Dec. 1, have been in the low 60s, still above average for this time of year.

On Monday, the workweek started with a cooler high temperature and lots of wind coming behind a cold front.

The wind blew steady at 30+ mph out of the northwest with gusts as high as 48 mph recorded at the Hays Regional Airport. Just before 12 p.m., the temperature had reached 56 degrees at the airport and then began slowly falling throughout the day.

Russell and Barton counties were included in a Red Flag Warning Monday afternoon for critical fire weather conditions, complicated by a combination of the strong winds, low humidity and relatively warm temperatures.

The weather forecast from the National Weather Service in Dodge City calls for Hays temperatures to be in the mid-40s the rest of the week, dipping as low as 38 degrees for a high on Thursday.