Next week temperatures will be trending above normal for this time of year, possibly hitting 60 degrees at the end of the week.

Normal highs for the beginning of February are in the low to mid 30s. Temperatures have been higher than that this week, reaching the mid 40s. This is finally melting the snow fall from January.

These warmer temperatures are caused by a warm front coming up from the south. This is in direct contrast to earlier this year.

“We kicked off the year with an interesting pattern where arctic air was allowed to surge south across a big chunk of the country,” said John Bungardner, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, Lincoln.

This caused far lower temperatures than usual for January. The lowest recorded temperature was -16 degrees on Jan. 15, with a wind chill of -43 degrees.

As soon as the wind chill reaches -15 degrees, frostbite can occur in less than 30 minutes.

Galesburg also received significantly more snow than is usual for this point in the season. Galesburg has seen 20.1 inches of snow cumulatively so far this winter, which is far above the average 7.7 inches for this time of year.

Bungardner said the first snow system attracted others like a magnet.

“We just got another round of snow, and then another round, so it just compounded,” he said.

No more snow is expected this winter. Temperatures may drop again near the end of February, but should stay around or slightly above freezing.