Mild weather continues this week

Remember that snowfall last weekend? Mother Nature doesn't, either.

The rest of January should be relatively mild and nearly snow-free, according to the National Weather Service.

Sunday's weather will be dry, and temperatures will be in the mid-40s -- about five degrees above normal, said meteorologist David Stark.

A cold front will move through the area Sunday night, bringing with it increasing clouds and a slight chance of rain or snow showers, Stark said. Monday's temperatures will be closer to the average, with highs in the mid-40s.

The cold front will move out by about Tuesday, leaving temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday in the lower 50s, Stark said. Some precipitation is expected on Tuesday night, but that will almost certainly be rain, he said.

The warm weather and quickly moving cold fronts are due to the La Niña atmospheric phenomenon, which is pushing the jet stream to the north and keeping the colder air in Canada and Alaska, Stark said.

"We don't really know if that's going to continue or not through February, but that's what we've been so far," he said.

So far this January, the area has seen 3.8 inches of snow -- all of which fell during the Jan. 21 snowfall -- about two inches below average. In comparison, by this time last year, 34 inches of snow had fallen.