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Dave Epstein

After today’s balmy weather, winter is set to return

Trevor Long took a dive off the MIT sailing dock Wednesday.David L Ryan/Globe Staff

Wednesday shaped into a second day of record-high temperatures across much of New England, with readings well into the 60s and lower 70s. Seventy-degree February afternoons, something that had only occurred once since 1872 before last year, have now occurred three more times in just two years.

It’s pretty amazing how warm this is. Temperatures nearly 30 degrees above average is about as anomalous a pattern as you will ever see.

While it felt like spring, there is colder, more seasonable air on the way. A cold front will slip south through New England overnight and allow Canadian air back into the region, with temperatures in the upper 30s Thursday morning.

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This boundary between the very mild air and the cold air to the north will be the focal point for several areas of low pressure over the next few days. The first of these will ride eastward Thursday afternoon and bring a bit of mixed precipitation. As temperatures continue to slowly fall throughout the day, some snow may accumulate, especially away from the coast.

WeatherBell

A bit of snow and rain will move through southern New England later Thursday. (Animation by COD Weather)

This is less than a big deal, but because it’s been 70 degrees the past couple of days, it’s certainly noteworthy to have snow 24 hours later.

The ground has warmed up a bit and it will be tough for the snow to accumulate on the roadways and walkways, but easier on grassy surfaces. This means some areas to the west and north of Boston will start to look a little more wintry for a time Thursday afternoon and Thursday night. I don’t expect this to be a travel issue beyond some slippery spots on the roads in areas that get below freezing Thursday night and Friday.

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There will be additional areas of moisture moving along this frontal boundary Friday and again on Sunday. Right now, it looks like it should be too warm for any frozen precipitation this weekend, though there could be a mixed bag of rain and snow across northern New England. So if you are headed to ski country be aware of changing travel conditions, especially north of central New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont northward.

I don’t see any more extreme warmth in the upcoming forecast; temperatures will be near seasonal averages for the next 10 days, and nothing I see looks to bring any major winter weather back to the region.