SPRINGTIME IN JANUARY; MILD WEATHER WON'T LAST LONG

Old Man Winter has been locked up in Canada for the majority of the past three weeks, but he is expected to get out today.

Meteorologists say the unseasonably warm weather the region has enjoyed this week will end with the arrival of more seasonal temperatures as early as this afternoon.

"We've been in a rather mild pattern for the last three or so weeks," said meteorologist Jim Keysor of the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky. "At least for a while that pattern is going to relax into more normal temperatures for this time of year."

Record high temperatures have been set this week all across the Plains and parts of the Midwest and South.

Keysor said a cold front should move through Missouri today, bringing with it the possibility of thunderstorms and cooler temperatures in the mid-40s.

Except for a surprise snow just before Christmas, the past three weeks have been warmer than usual in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois. A record high temperature of 62 degrees was recorded at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport on Thursday, and a high of 65 degrees on Friday was only 2 degrees short of equaling another record.

Still, the average low during the past three weeks was in the mid- to upper 30s.

Meteorologist Ted Schroeder of the National Weather Service in St. Louis said area temperatures have remained mild because the jet stream has stayed to the north, thereby cutting off cold arctic air that would normally keep temperatures much lower in the Midwest. Warm, southerly winds out of the Plains has contributed to the warmup, he said.

"There have been warmer than normal temperatures even in the northern U.S.," said Schroeder. "In Missouri we've had records broken in Springfield and Columbia, and St. Louis has been close to breaking its record highs."

Both Keysor and Schroeder warned people not to get accustomed to going around without a winter coat. Temperatures should be back to normal by tonight, they said, and no significant warmups are expected for the next two weeks. They said people should expect to see temperatures from the low 20s to the mid-40s, which are normal for January.

"This is normally our coldest time of the year," Keysor said. "While we don't have any brutally cold weather on the horizon, things will be getting back to normal temperature-wise."