(Radio Iowa) – It wasn’t long ago that Iowa was buried under a blanket of white with wind chills howling as low as 40 degrees below zero, but most of that deep snow is long gone and what remains will very soon melt. Meteorologist Andrew Ansorge, at the National Weather Service, says it could be a record-setting week ahead — for warmth. “For early February, we tend to see temperatures in the upper 20s to low 30s,” Ansorge says, “but as we get into Wednesday and especially Thursday, we’ll see temperatures in the 50s and on Thursday, well into the 50s and even low 60s, and that will challenge some record highs in portions of the state.”

For the time being, Ansorge says it doesn’t appear that wintry weather will be making a return. “We’ll get a little bit cooler late in the week and into this weekend,” Ansorge says. “Highs by Sunday will be back down towards 40, but it’s still going to be above normal for this time of year, so nothing the next seven days like an arctic blast like what we had a few weeks ago here across Iowa.” Two snowstorms walloped Iowa during one week in mid-January, dumping a combined more than 20 inches of snow on most of the state. Even for Iowa, that was a lot of snow, but most signs of those storms have now vanished. “There’s maybe a few spots where there’s a little bit of snow on the ground, but overall, it’s just piles,” Ansorge says. “You go to your big parking lots, there’s just piles of snow piled up, and that’s pretty much all that’s left. I look out in our parking lot here and that’s all we have left as well.”

We’re barely half-way through winter, and Ansorge says it’s almost certain we haven’t seen the last of snow and bitter cold for the season. “No, there’s still plenty of time for winter to reappear and make sure we get to experience all the winter fun of snow shoveling, driving in it and cold weather as well,” he says.

The first day of Spring is March 19th.