Submitted Photo As this projection shows, there is an elevated chance of warmer than usual weather for the Minot area through early March.

This is the time of year when the weather is capable of doing just about anything, from unseasonable warm to deep snowfalls and sub-zero temperatures. Fortunately for those hoping for an early spring, the Minot area is included in a large portion of the country that is likely to experience warmer than usual temperatures in the days ahead.

Today’s daytime high temperature in the region is expected to be close to or more than 50 degrees. After a dip in temps while a fast moving clipper system moves through the area on Sunday, temperatures will once again rise well above the long-term norm for the season.

“We are dealing with a favorable jet stream that doesn’t bring a lot of cold air down to us or big storms to our area,” said Janine Vining, National Weather Service meteorologist in Bismarck. “At least through next week or so there are no big storms coming our way, just a few small clipper systems.”

Minot’s forecast for Sunday is for a high temperature in the mid 30’s. After that the rest of the week should see daytime highs in the upper 30’s to mid-40’s. There’s a good possibility the warm spell with stretch well into the second week of March.

Normal high temperatures for the next two weeks range from 30 to 35 degrees, so a forecast of mid-40’s is well above normal for the dates.

“It really won’t be too bad temperature-wise,” said Vining.

Vining noted that this time of year is often characterized by variable weather patterns, but added that there were some indications that the current warm spell could continue until the latter part of March.