Despite one of the warmest Decembers on record, 2014 will go out with a bite.

A month of above-average and above-freezing temperatures will end this week with a cold front that has settled in over the Midcoast and will likely linger into the new year, according to meteorologist Eric Sinsabaugh at the National Weather Service in Gray.

At the current temperatures, as of Monday, Dec. 29, 2014 would tie the record for the second-warmest month of December in Maine since records were kept.

At the current average temperature of 34.5 F, 2014 would tie 2006 for the second-warmest December on record. In 2001 a new record was set for December when Maine averaged 34.8 F.

But save any champagne popping for New Year's Eve: Things are about to get cold, Sinsabaugh said.

“These cold temperatures should drop us out of the (top-two),” he said.

The cold temperatures will arrive Monday night and continue into Tuesday and Wednesday, Sinsabaugh said. Some of the night time temperatures are expected to dip into the teens and single digits, Sinsabaugh said, adding that a white New Year's Day is unlikely, as the cold system has pushed aside any chance for precipitation.

The current cold snap is expected to be paired with northwesterly winds notching 10 to 15 knots on Monday and Tuesday, and potential gusts of up to 20 knots on Wednesday, Dec. 31.

By Friday, Jan. 2 temperatures will hover around the freezing mark.