Meg Jones

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Spring-like weather is in the forecast later this week — high temperatures in the 50s — and it's all because the jet stream decided to swing further north than usual for this time of year.

With the jet stream hovering north of Wisconsin, warm air will blow in from the southwest, boosting temperatures across the state, said Tom Kines, a meteorologist with accuweather.com.

"We can thank the jet stream for the tranquil and eventually milder weather coming our way," Kines said Monday afternoon. The jet stream "is well north of us. When that happens it allows milder air from the south to move north."

Though temperatures were in the 40s Monday and likely on Tuesday, the forecast calls for a dip into more normal temperatures in the 30s on Wednesday and Thursday before spiking in the mid-50s on Saturday and Sunday in southeastern Wisconsin, said Rudy Schaar, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Sullivan.

The record high temperature for Saturday in Milwaukee is 57, set in 1877, and 59 degrees on Sunday, set in 1981.

If it seems like it has been a mild winter so far, it has — the average temperature since Dec. 1 has been 2.6 degrees above normal. During December, 18.8 inches of snow fell in Milwaukee, 8.2 inches above normal. But January's snowfall was way down — 4.1 inches in Milwaukee, more than 10 inches lower than average.

Wisconsin hasn't gotten a favorable storm track to bring in lots of snow, instead the storms have headed elsewhere.

"Unless you're a snow lover, it's been a good winter," Kines said.

Long range — which is always a gamble, since predicting weather is difficult weeks in advance — forecasters are predicting cold weather to return later this month.

"Enjoy the weather coming up," Kines said. "We all know the end of February and March can be cruel months. They can still bring snow."