March gladness: Get ready for a shot of warmth that'll see temps hit 60

It's been a rough stretch of cold weather recently but beginning today the Greater Rochester area will see a milder side of March that may even bring out some motorcycles and put away those bulky winter coats, at least for a few days.

The pattern of upper level ridging producing the warmth begins today but will be slowed by a disturbance tonight before getting back in gear on Wednesday producing highs Thursday and Friday in the low 60s, said William Watson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine.

A northward bulge in the jet stream will facilitate the warmup with breezes out of the southwest on Wednesday and Thursday allowing milder temps to pour into Southern Maine and New Hampshire.

Watson believes whatever snow is on the ground in the Northern Seacoast now will be gone by Friday, which will see an end to the milder temps in mid- to late afternoon when another cold front settles in.

"It's going to be a shortlived warmup," said Watson, who doubted the highs would get anywhere near records, which for this time in March are in the high 60s and even 70s.