Boston reached a record-breaking high of 69 degrees before rising further to 70 degrees Tuesday — mere days after seeing several inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service.
And don’t put away those sunglasses just yet: Forecasters predicted that record high temperatures are in store for Wednesday as well.
After temperatures are expected to drop to a low of 50 Tuesday night, Boston will probably see a mostly sunny day Wednesday with a high of 71 degrees and a low of 51. Although the skies will be partly cloudy, the sun will still be shining, weather service meteorologist Lenore Correia said.
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The forecast means the city could drastically surpass the previous record high for Feb. 21, which was just 63 degrees back in 1906, Correia said.
That’s a stark contrast to the 5.6 inches of snow Boston received Saturday. However, Correia said the weather pattern Tuesday has nothing to do with the weekend winter storm.
“It really has to do with the wind direction,” she said. “The wind direction helps warming significantly. Right now we have southwesterly winds; right now that means all the warm air is being pushed over New England.”
However, enjoy the warmth while you can — it won’t last through the end of the month.
“We’re expecting it to go back to near normal on Thursday,” Correia said. “Highs will be upper 30s, low 40s on Friday, which is fairly normal.”
Temperatures in February normally average around 29 degrees, Correia said, “but it’s really just the wind patterns.”
Laney Ruckstuhl can be reached at laney.ruckstuhl@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @laneyruckstuhl.