The smell of hamburgers grilling and suntan lotion lingered through DeKalb over the weekend as temperatures reached an unseasonable high.

The highs for Friday, Saturday and Sunday were 78 degrees, 84 degrees and 78 degrees, respectively, which was way above normal for this time of year, said Dale Helgerson, Rockford Weather Service meteorologist.

“The normal high for this time of the year is about 54 degrees, but a strong warm air flow flew across the area from the south, which caused the temperatures to rise,” Helgerson said.

elgerson said today’s high should be in the mid-70s, but a slow moving cold front from the west will set in Tuesday afternoon.

As the temperatures rose, so did the sales of area businesses.

Bill Jamison, owner of Ollie’s Frozen Custard, 1208 Sycamore Road, said there was a striking increase in business.

“We are doing summer business in April,” he said. “I am grateful for the great weather and the people who are coming out to see us.”

Jamison said he expects to get a break once the weather cools off, but until then is not complaining.

TCBY, 1022 W. Lincoln Hwy., also saw an increase in customers.

Mary Dresmal, TCBY employee, said she saw a definite jump in sales since Friday.

The sunshine also caused students to flock to the Office of Campus and Recreation for outdoor rentals.

Quin Gifford, outdoor rec center worker, said there was a tremendous increase in outdoor rentals over the weekend.

“The most popular items were roller skates, golf clubs, canoes and volleyball nets,” he said.

Gifford said although there was a dramatic rental increase, the rec center did not run out of any particular item.

“The only thing we ran out of was roller skate sizes, but if the people waited for their size it usually came in within a half hour,” he said.

River Heights Golf Course, 1020 Sharon Dr., opened two weeks ago, but an employee said he has seen more golfers than usual for this time of the year, especially NIU students.

“The people are coming out faster than the buds on the trees,” said counter worker Erving Cowan.

“Even the non-golfers are coming out to join their buddies and enjoy the nice weather,” he said.