Warmth greets March early on

 
Thunder Bay faced an usually warm first day of March Monday.

This week alone, Environment Canada is predicting temperatures will reach a high of 8C by Friday. Meteorologist Geoff Coulson says this sudden warm streak is caused by warmer air masses from the Southern U.S., which have moved into the area.

He adds that March is typically a transition month. Temperatures can either warm up significantly or plunge into bitter cold conditions.

For the next week or so, the warm air from the south will be winning the battle. The normal daytime high for this time of year is –2 C. But we're expecting highs ranging from 2 C to 8 C.
If the thermometer does hit 8 C on Friday, it will be a new record for the warmest March 5. The last time that record was broken was in 2005 when temperatures reached a high of 3.4 C.