For only the third time in Buffalo's weather recorded history dating back to 1870, the temperature reached 70 degrees in February.

The city shattered the city's daily record for warmth Friday that dated back 111 years to a time when Theodore Roosevelt occupied The White House.

The mercury officially soared to 71 degrees between about 1 p.m. and 1:15 p.m., breaking the previous record for Feb. 24 by four degrees.

It also equaled the all-time warmest day in February in the city's history.

On Feb. 26, 2000, the thermometer also crested to 71 degrees.

On average, Buffalo's normal daily high temperature doesn't reach 71 degrees until May 30, according to weather service data.

Some online data suggested Buffalo may have reached a new all-time mark of 72 degrees, but officials at the National Weather Service confirmed that "a rounding error" between conversions between official measurements in Celsius and display readings in Fahrenheit resulted in the discrepancy.

The unseasonably warm temperatures were generated by a surge of warm moist air being pulled up from the Gulf of Mexico ahead of a strong low pressure system.