Philadelphia saw its first 60-degree day since Christmas on Wednesday.
The National Weather Service recorded a high of 61 at Philadelphia International Airport at 3:32 p.m., making the day the warmest of the year thus far.
The last time the mercury passed that mark at the airport was Dec. 25, when the high was 65. The city nearly hit the 60-degree threshold Tuesday but fell just short at 59 degrees.
It's been a chilly 2015 in Philadelphia. The average temperature recorded at the airport so far in March is 33.1 degrees, 7.2 degrees below normal, according to weather service data.
That comes after February ended with an average monthly temperature nearly 10 degrees below normal. January's average was 2.1 degrees lower than usual.
Springlike temperatures have been slow to arrive this year.
Last year, March 11 was Philadelphia's fourth 60-plus day of the year, weather service records show. Through this point in 2014, Philadelphia also had 11 other days during which the temperature reached the 50s.
In contrast, the mercury has hit the 50's just six times in 2015 - with three of those this week.
The warm weather's late arrival may be making those temperatures seem even higher.
"Since the region has been so cold for so long, it will feel significantly warmer than the actual temperature," meteorologist Alex Sosnowski wrote on the AccuWeather Inc. website Wednesday morning. - Emily Babay