THUNDER BAY -- There's lots of sunshine in the extended weather forecast for Thunder Bay this week.
Environment Canada says temperatures from Monday through next Sunday will be considerably above normal.
Warming conditions will become especially noticeable by Tuesday, when the temperature is expected to max out at 17 C.
From Wednesday through Saturday, highs will range as high as 20 degrees, all under mostly sunny skies.
There is no sign of showers in the forecast until Sunday, when the predicted high is still 14 C.
The normal maximum temperature for Thunder Bay at this time of year is only 10 C.
Environment Canada meteorologist Jeff Coulson said the long spell of pleasant weather is the result of "a different flow pattern" from what's usual for this time of year.
Whereas the wind normally would be blowing in from the north or northwest, bringing cooler air masses from the northern prairies, the wind direction currently tends to be from the southwest, in the U.S., where air masses are warmer.
Coulson said the jet stream at this time of year typically slumps to the south, but it has been hovering farther north than usual.
He said that around the middle of the week, "we may rival or get close to" record-high temperatures.
