Temps could hit record high today

A record high of 63 degrees was set Jan. 6, 1982, for Cape Girardeau, according to AccuWeather.com. In 1998, local almanac records of temperatures taken at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport documented a high of 64 degrees for Jan. 6.

Today, a new record is expected as the high is forecast to reach 70 degrees.

"The storm over California that hit yesterday is influencing our weather," AccuWeather meterologist Steve Samuhel said Saturday. Heavy snow has covered the Northern California mountains as rain and wind from the third storm in as many days hit the West Coast. Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in California, Oregon and Washington remained without power Saturday.

"That system covers the west," Samuhel said. "The jetstream dives southward, and then it goes to the north and west. Air masses coming from Mexico are causing high temperatures."

A front coming in could mean severe weather Monday night. Predicted temperatures are still unseasonably warm, with a high of 69 degrees. The storm should clear out by morning with a shower possibly lingering Tuesday morning.

Temperatures began dipping New Year's Eve, with the lowest temperature -- 13 degrees -- occurring Tuesday. By Thursday, average winter temperatures in the 30s shifted upward, with Friday seeing a high of 51. Temperatures will stay unseasonably warm until Wednesday, when the predicted high is 47.

Sheila Perry, garden manager of Traveler's Gazebo Gardens, said the fluctuation in temperatures does not have an affect on the plants and shrubs sold there.

"Houseplants kept in the main greenhouse are heated when it gets cold. You just adjust the temperature."

A rise in temperature would just mean not having to rely on environmental controls to keep the houseplants warm.

"Trees and shrubs planted outside in the ground do just fine. They're durable. If they weren't buried, then there would be a problem," she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.