Shed some layers: It's going to be in the 70s today

Bank signs and car consoles told the story: Cape Girardeau broke its first weather record of the year Sunday with a high of 65 degrees at 3 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

While temperatures never reached the predicted high of 70, the mercury rose two degrees above the record of 63 degrees set Jan. 6, 1982, according to accuweather.com and one degree higher than the local almanac record of 64 degrees at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport in 1998.

An overcast sky and wind made the day feel more like the high 50s on the Realfeel calculator on accuweather.com, but the actual temperatures broke the record.

The area has warmed 40 degrees since Thursday when temperatures were in the 20s.

Meteorologists credit an air stream coming up from Mexico for the weird winter weather. The same system that dropped snow on Northern California helped cause the unseasonably warm conditions. Rain and another broken record are forecast for today. The high is predicted to be 75. The current record high temperature for Jan. 7 is 67, set in 1989.

Accuweather.com describes normal weather in Cape Girardeau as being in the 40s at this time of year, but Sunday and today's predicted weather are nowhere near the norm.

One group of children wasn't letting the warm weather and complete lack of snow stop their fun as they skidded down the courthouse stairs on a sled Sunday afternoon.

Two Southeast Missouri State University alumni came back to Cape Girardeau for a visit and were enjoying the weather by the river.

John Shore and Chuck Gloeckner now live in St. Louis, but ended up on Interstate 55 headed toward their old college town.

"We heard 65, and we said we've got to get out of the house today," Shore said.

charris@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246