In the first 6 1/2 days of December, more than 100 high-temperature records were broken or tied in the major cities of the northeastern United States.

With the average temperature between Dec. 1 and Dec. 6 at about 15 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, this warm spell improves the chances of making 1998 the warmest year in the 12-state Northeast region since records were first kept in 1895, says Keith Eggleston, senior climatologist at the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University.

To break the all-time, all-year average high temperature, December needs to average 2.7 degrees above the 30-year average. With the jump start of warmer-than-usual temperatures, Eggleston says that from now until the end of the month, if temperatures average 27.5 degrees for the month, the Northeast will have no problem breaking the old record of 49.5 degrees set in 1953.

Before December, Eggleston gave the Northeast a 33 percent chance of setting an all-time average temperature. "Now, it's about a 50 percent chance, maybe even a little better than 50 percent," says Eggleston.