Mid-Winter Thaw Coming for Southampton

It's about to get a little warm on Long Island — temperatures will head above normal for the rest of the week as the arctic air mass loosens its grip on the area.

A warmer air mass is about to force its way into the eastern seaboard, bringing temperatures above normal for mid-January, let alone mid-winter, with a few days in the week ahead hitting highs around 50 degrees and lows only dropping to around 35 degrees at night.

The temperatures are caused by a ridge in the polar jet stream, which normally serves up cold weather and storms toward the Northeast during this time of year. The ridge is being pushed back north by a powerful high pressure over the tropics, blowing warmer air up from the south and towards the eastern United States.

According to weather.com, the average high temperature for January in Southampton is 39 degrees, while the average low is 24 degrees. The record high is 66 degrees. In 2012, February was unseasonably warm — it was 61 degrees on Southampton's Main Street, just 2 degrees short of the record high.

The National Weather Service extended forecast shows mostly sunny conditions over Long Island throughout the rest of the week, with highs in the mid to upper 40s from Tuesday to Thursdays and peaking around 50 degrees on Friday and Saturday.

The warming trend, however, is not expected to last. Long-range forecasting models show the warm air escaping the region by Jan. 15, bringing the frigid arctic air behind it.