After a cold week that saw snow before turning unseasonably warm, Saturday could tie or break the record high temperature for Jan. 11.
“By Saturday, we’ll be not far off the 70 degree mark, believe it or not,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said.
That record 70 degree temperature was set in 1880, he said.
January’s normal high is 38 and the normal low is 32, and this week has been pretty typical — at least up until Thursday afternoon when temperatures crept to a mild 50 degrees.
Today will reach a high of 62 degrees as a prelude to the potential record-breaking high on Saturday, according to Pydynowski.
This evening and Saturday both have a chance of rain, but if it does rain, there won’t be an “overwhelming” amount, Pydynowski said.
Saturday will also be the peak of the unseasonable weather and Sunday the high will drop to the upper-50s and will still be mild for this time of year — more than 15 degrees above the average temp, Pydynowski said.
Monday and Tuesday will remain very mild, with temperatures expected to hit the mid-50s.
Butch Burnside bates his pole at the Coopers Rock Trout Pond on Wednesday.
The warm temperatures are thanks to warm air coming from the Pacific Ocean and a lack of arctic air breaking free and blowing across the eastern half of the country, Pydynowski said.
Some people have been taking advantage of the unseasonably warm temps and fishing.
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources started stocking trout in ponds, streams and lakes across the state. However, nothing has been stocked in Monongalia County, according to the DNR’s website.
