Worcester Breaks Temperature Record On Warm February Day: NWS

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester broke a four-decade high temperature record Thursday, even though the city did not officially break out of the 50s.

Worcester recorded a high of 59 degrees on Thursday before temperatures began to drop in the late afternoon. The previous Feb. 17 record was set in 1981 when the thermometer hit 56.

Worcester was the only big city in southern New England to break a temperature record on Thursday. Boston tied its record at 61. Providence and Hartford each hit 62, not high enough to break the Feb. 17 record, according to the National Weather Service.

The warm weather will last only a little longer, according to forecasts.

Temperatures will start out in the mid-50s around rush hour Friday morning. But temperatures will drop steadily throughout the day, reaching the low 30s by the evening rush hour.

The start of the February break will be cool, with temperatures in the 30s over President's Day weekend — but a return to a stretch of weather in the 50s returns by Monday, according to forecasts.