We had quite the temperature swing on Tuesday, with a low of 33° giving way to a high of 76° in the afternoon. A warm front that swung through around daybreak helped temperatures jump from 37° a little after 6am to 46° about 20 minutes later, according to the National Weather Service. From there, plenty of sunshine propelled us to the warmest day since January 10.

I hope you got to enjoy the brief spring preview, because the weather will turn more unsettled on Wednesday as a cold front approaches from the northwest. Temperatures will still run well above normal, with lows in the low 50s yielding to highs once again approaching 70° in the afternoon. Showers will begin to move into the area as early as daybreak, with off and on showers possible through the evening hours.

One could make the argument that Tuesday’s forecast might be the most pleasant in a few weeks as temperatures head well above normal as we end up on the north side of high pressure centered roughly around Tampa, FL. We’ll start the day around 40°, but west and southwest winds along with mostly sunny skies will help drive temperatures some 30° warmer during the day, with highs reaching the low 70s across much of the area (save for the immediate coast, where marine influences will keep temperatures capped to the upper 50s to around 60°). This should be our first 70° day since January 22, when the high reached 72°.

While we do have some rain chances in store this week, what we will be lacking (after Monday morning, anyway) is subfreezing cold. It’s been a very chilly start to February so far — in fact, this first week of February (Feb 1-7) ties 1951 for ninth coldest on record at the airport with an average temperature of 42.2°. We will thankfully break the cold snap this week as the upper-air pattern changes a bit, favoring a ridge trying to nudge in from the south that’ll keep the colder air bottled up to the north.

A chilly — but, thankfully, mostly sunny — weekend lies ahead as a reinforcing shot of cool air works its way in on Saturday. We’ll start Saturday in the mid-30s, but somewhat brisk northwesterly winds will drive the wind chill into the upper 20s to low 30s. Another push of cooler and drier air moves in during the day, and highs will only peak around 50° as a result with brisk winds continuing. Gusts to 25 MPH will be possible during the day, so keep that in mind for any outdoor activity you’ve got planned.

Sunshine returns as we head into the first full weekend of February, but we’ve got a few more days of below-normal temperatures before some relief arrives next week.

After some much-needed rain Wednesday, Thursday will be a much cooler day as a cold front moves by. Some showers may linger in the morning, but otherwise we can expect a mostly cloudy day with some peeks of sun from time to time. Expect temperatures to start in the mid-to-upper 30s, warming to just the mid-40s in the afternoon given the cloud cover and cooler air blowing in from the north.