Friday's warmth no record for Bootheel

The second day of 2004 brought near record-breaking warm temperatures to Southeast Missouri. In Cape Girardeau, where the average temperature on Jan. 2 has been 39.8 over the past five years, the high reached 64. The record high for Jan. 2 in Cape Girardeau was set in 2000, when the temperature reached 69 degrees. "It may not be a record breaker, but it's way above normal for this time of the year," said Christine Wielgos, a spokeswoman for the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky. The NWS is predicting that the warm weather will continue through the weekend, but it will likely be accompanied by rain. Today there's a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with highs in the 60s. Sunday is more of the same, with a chance of thunderstorms and highs in the upper 50s.