The first day of spring is more than a week away, but Southern New England saw a tantalizing tease of warmer days ahead Thursday, as temperature records were broken in Boston, Worcester, and Providence.
Temperatures in Boston rose to 74 degrees, beating the previous record of 67 set in 1990. In Worcester, it was 70, breaking the previous record of 66 set in 1977. And in Providence it was 72, breaking the record of 71 set in 1990, the National Weather Service said.
Temperatures are on the decline as the sun begins setting on a beautiful March day in southern New England. We broke high temperature records at 3 climate sites today!
— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) March 11, 2021
Boston - 74 - Previous - 67 (1990)
Worcester - 70 - Previous - 66 (1977)
Providence - 72 - Previous - 71 (1990)
Temperatures are supposed to reach the mid-50s to lower 60s on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, the highs are expected to be in the 40s again.
Advertisement
Things could be much worse. The weather service pointed out in a tweet that the Great Blizzard of 1888, a storm from March 11 to March 14, killed over 400 people in the Northeast, including 200 in New York City. It dropped 40 inches of snow in North Adams, and 58 inches in Saratoga Springs, New York.
#OTD in Weather History: March 11-14, 1888.
— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) March 11, 2021
The "Great Blizzard of 1888" was one of the fiercest blizzards on record that struck the Northeast. pic.twitter.com/PGrb7oTGj7
Martin Finucane can be reached at martin.finucane@globe.com.