Meteorologists issued a blizzard warning for parts of Hawaii and a flood watch for most of Maine on Christmas, and the irony didn’t go unnoticed by forecasting experts.

Andy Pohl, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Gray, said nearly all of Maine will experience rain on Christmas with a high probability that Portland will break its record high temperature of 53 degrees set in 1994.

“Portland’s record high will be in jeopardy on Thursday,” he said, adding that the thermometer could reach a balmy 54 or 55 degrees.

The flood watch, which only applies to snow-covered inland and mountain areas, will end Thursday night. Most of the state will get 1-1.5 inches of rain. The warmer temperatures will cause snow in the mountains to melt and run off. If Wednesday’s precipitation had been snow rather than rain, Pohl estimated Portland would have received a foot or more of snow.

Farther south, in cities such as Boston and Portsmouth, the temperatures could exceed 60 degrees, according to Pohl’s forecast. Even Mount Washington in New Hampshire could break its record high of 42 degrees by the time the holiday ends.

Meanwhile in Hawaii, the National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning until 6 a.m. Thursday for its two highest mountains on the so-called the Big Island, which also is named Hawaii. The forecast called for up to a foot of snow, bitterly cold winds, and lightning strikes on 13,796-foot Mauna Kea and 13,678-foot Mauna Loa.

“I’m dreaming of a White Christmas … in Hawaii?” was the message posted on the Facebook page of the National Weather Service’s Gray office. “Looking for some fresh snow in time for Christmas? Try looking toward our 50th state. We’ll be dealing with rain across New Hampshire and Maine, but our friends at the National Weather Service (in Hawaii) have a blizzard warning in effect.”

Though Hawaii’s lofty mountains often get snow, it’s uncertain when, or if ever, they’ve had the white stuff on Christmas

Back in Maine, forecasters seemed certain that it would rain for most of the day Thursday.

Pohl said December has been a wet one.

In December 2013, Portland recorded 26.2 inches of snow, making it the ninth snowiest December on record. But so far this month, Portland had received just 2.4 inches of snow – 7 inches below normal. Total “liquid equivalent” (the combination of rain and snow) for December 2014 stands at 5.18 inches or 2 inches above normal, Pohl said.

The steady rain that started Wednesday did not seem to be hampering travel.

Paul Bradbury, director of the Portland International Jetport, said several flights left  Wednesday morning on schedule. Nearly all of those flights, except for a Jet Blue, were at capacity.

“Everything was close to full,” Bradbury said.

Even so, Bradbury said the jetport conducts quarterly surveys that consistently show the busiest travel days occur in July and August. He said more than 70 percent of summer travelers live out of state while more than 70 percent of people who fly between November and January live in Maine.

Erin Courtney, a spokeswoman for the Maine Turnpike Authority, said more people would be driving cars on Wednesday and Thursday than last Christmas.

“We are estimating a 2.5 percent increase in toll transactions (this year) over last year,” she said, attributing the increase to lower gas prices.

“Gas is certainly a lot less expensive than it was last year,” she said. “That is making people travel more than they might have.”