Record Warmth, Rain to Follow in Putnam, Rockland, Westchester

Record warmth in the lower Hudson Valley today -- with even higher temps than the meteorologists had predicted.

"If that isn’t a good enough reason to get outside, maybe the unsettled weather moving in tomorrow is," says Bill Potter of Hudson Valley Weather. "A decent rain maker will bring up to 1 inch of rain to parts of the region tomorrow, making today an awesome day to put down grass seed. The threat of showers will increase from north to south thru the afternoon hours… and last into the night on Thursday."

Just how warm is it? According to AccuWeather.com, temps were supposed to hit a high of 74 in Brewster at 4 p.m., but it's already 77.

According to WeatherUnderground.com, it's now 78 in New City, 75 in Purchase, 79 in Brewster.

Temps have blasted through the record high for this day in Poughkeepsie -- which was 68 degrees F, according to the National Weather Service.

But the point is: Multiple days of 70-degree temperatures this early in the season are rare, as is the magnitude of the warmth, says AccuWeather.com. Temperatures of 10-30 degrees above average will span three days or more this week.

Spring isn't far away at this point -- it arrives on Palm Sunday, March 20, at 12:30 a.m. EDT.