Unseasonable warmth continues for one more day before it is blunted by a sharp cold front that will bring a few late showers Wednesday followed by much cooler weather on Thursday.

First, though, we start Wednesday with low temperatures approaching 60°, warming to the upper 70s to maybe even 80° in the afternoon ahead of the aforementioned front. It’ll be breezy, too, as the pressure gradient tightens ahead of the front. We should stay rain-free through the daylight hours; from there, a thin line of showers, which has been depicted on models for the past several days, should move by and produce a little rain, but nothing too impactful.

The impacts from the front will come in the form of a sharp cooldown for Leap Day. We start Thursday in the mid-40s, only warming to the low 60s in the afternoon with more clouds than not and breezy northeasterly winds. Winds will slacken a little bit Thursday night into early Friday, though low pressure developing offshore as high pressure wedges southwestward into the area should help to tighten the gradient a bit more as we go through Friday. Shower chances increase throughout the day Friday as moisture overruns the wedge and the aforementioned low pressure develops, with rain chances peaking Friday night into Saturday morning. Temperatures are currently forecast in the mid-60s, but downward revisions to that forecast certainly seem possible as we learn more about the strength of the wedge.

We turn even warmer on Tuesday as high pressure moves further offshore and more warmer air is drawn northward. Temperatures start several degrees above normal, generally in the low 50s (and even warmer closer to the coast). From there, we’ll head well into the mid-70s in the afternoon despite an uptick in cloud cover compared to Monday as a disturbance moves by to the north. We’ll stay out of the rain, though. Winds will run a little on the breezy side as well, but nothing too crazy.

Sunday’s chill yields to a much warmer few days to start the new week and close out February. After a chilly start in the upper 30s, temperatures on Monday will rise into the low 70s, several degrees warmer than we reached on Sunday, thanks to plenty of sunshine and winds starting to go southerly as surface high pressure moves offshore. The warming trend continues for Tuesday and Wednesday, with lows in the low 50s on Tuesday yielding to highs in the mid-70s in the afternoon. Wednesday will start well above normal — think upper 50s — before temperatures make a run at 80° in the afternoon despite a mix of sun and clouds.

This weekend’s weather is generally looking quiet, with a fair bit of sunshine and temperatures generally a few degrees within normal. Saturday will run on the warm side of normal behind Friday night’s cold front, with lows bottoming out in the mid-40s before warming to near 70° in the afternoon. Another cold front will come through later Saturday accompanied by an uptick in cloud cover for most of us. A shower or two will be possible near the Santee, but other than that, the vast majority of us stay rain-free.

This front brings cooler-than-normal temperatures for Sunday, though not horrendously so: lows bottom out in the upper 30s with a slight north wind taking wind chills to the mid-30s. Sunshine looks to be more in abundance on Sunday than Saturday, and this will help temperatures head to the low-to-mid-60s in the afternoon. Temperatures rebound quickly into the 70s on Monday, with warming continuing through at least midweek as we put the finishing touches on another relatively warm climatological winter.

The first of two cold fronts to affect the area this weekend comes through on Friday, bringing showers to the area and maybe even a thunderstorm or two. It’ll be the warmest start to a day this week, with lows bottoming out only in the low 50s. Temperatures should warm to the upper 60s to around 70°, but the rain being around will make it decidedly less nice.

The first front clears the area in time for Saturday, which should be the warmer of the two weekend days. We start the day in the mid-40s while highs head to the mid-to-upper 60s once again under partly cloudy skies. Clouds will tick up as we head into Saturday afternoon and evening as the second front moves by, and there’s an outside shot at a shower or two as it moves through. This front will bring more of a cool shot of air to the area, with lows on Sunday bottoming out in the upper 30s and highs struggling to reach 60° under mostly sunny skies. The chill is short-lived, though: temperatures on Monday head into the upper 60s, while we’re well into the 70s by Tuesday as we close out February and climatological winter.

One more quiet day of weather lies ahead before a brief round of rain for Friday. Temperatures on Thursday start in the upper 30s — still running a little below normal for this point in February — but warm to the mid-to-upper 60s in the afternoon as southerly flow moderates the airmass a little bit more. We’ll start the day on the clear side, but clouds will gradually increase ahead of a cold front that’ll affect the area on Friday with the first shower chances in a few days.

We have a couple more quiet days of weather ahead before showers associated with a cold front affect the area Friday. Wednesday will be another bright and sunny day with temperatures a few clicks below normal. We start the day in the mid-30s and warm to the low 60s as high pressure moves overhead.

From there, a warming trend develops ahead of the aforementioned Friday front. Thursday will start about 5° warmer as lows bottom out around 40°, while winds coming back out of the south help drive highs to the mid-to-upper 60s in the afternoon. Cloud cover will be increasing as the front draws closer throughout the day Thursday, but rain will hold off until at least Friday morning. Showers and maybe a thunderstorm will be possible during the day, but severe weather isn’t expected. Friday will be a spring-like day with lows in the low 50s yielding to highs around 70° in the afternoon, tempered by shower activity.

The front clears the area late Friday, and we will have a quiet weekend of weather with temperatures generally around late February normals (mid-60s highs) and lots of sunshine.

We have a chilly night ahead as clearing skies and light winds allow for good radiational cooling conditions. This should allow morning lows on Tuesday to reach freezing for the first time since January 22, when we started the day at a frigid 23°. It won’t be quite as cold — freezing temperatures in the metro would be relatively short-lived — but with some light wind in the morning, it’ll feel more like the upper 20s as we get back to regular order after Washington’s Birthday. There will be plenty of sunshine, though, and that’ll help counteract some cooler air continuing to filter into the area, allowing highs to top out in the low 60s once again.

After a fairly dreary weekend (and a particularly chilly Sunday), the sun returns for a majority of the upcoming week (with a good-looking weekend on tap, too, for a change). We will stay on the chilly side for a couple more days, though, with lows in the mid-30s greeting us on Monday. Cloud cover will come and go throughout the day as a disturbance moves across the area, but it’ll be too dry at the surface for any rain. Still, there should be enough sun to get us to the low 60s Monday afternoon.

This latest stretch of 70°+ weather comes to an end Saturday as a cold front moves through the area. Dry air near the surface will preclude much, if any, rainfall from affecting the area as the front moves by, though a light shower or two can’t be totally discounted. We start the day in the mid-50s before warming to just the mid-60s in the afternoon as the front moves by and we start to cool off.

Clouds struggle to break up post-front on Sunday, but we should see at least a few peeks of sun. Still, it’ll turn much cooler — we start in the low 40s, but will only warm to the mid-50s at best with all the cloud cover around. This chill doesn’t hang around particularly long, though, as we’re back in the 60s on Monday and approaching 70° later next week.