NIU students can expect unseasonably warm temperatures to continue through at least the start of Spring Break.

Sunday’s high of 66 degrees and Monday’s high of 68 degrees brought DeKalb two record-breaking days in a row.

Dan Koch of the NIU weather service said that on Sunday, a previous record of 59 degrees set in 1972 was broken and Monday’s high surpassed the old record of 65 degrees, set in 1974.

Mike Bell of the National Weather Service in Rockford said, “(Monday) was the week’s hot day, but it should continue to be mild through March 9.”

Bell said Wednesday should be cooler with a high near 50 degrees. It will probably be warmer on Thursday with a high in the mid to upper 50s, he added, and weekend temperatures could get near 60 degrees.

Bell said it was too early to tell if we would have continued sunshine, but he predicts above average temperatures and below average precipitation for the next six to ten days.

However, Jim Noel of the NIU Weather Service said we might get

a little sun Tuesday and Wednesday, and we should expect showers on Thursday and Friday.

“Overall, it will continue to be mild, turning wetter over the next six to seven days,” Noel said. It should get colder next week, he added.

Noel said he attributes this unusual weather to an abnormal pattern developing in the Pacific, called the El Nino. It’s a pattern that occurs every three to four years, warming the ocean waters to an unusually high temperature, Noel said. He added that NIU can expect some extremely hot days before the end of the semester.