Baby, it's warm outside: mercury rises to record heights

January 8, 2008 04:35 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

(Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff)

Dwayne Scruton, 21, of Westford; Matt Mireault, 19, of Lowell; and Ben Sandessa, 20, of Westford, felt the warmth today on the bike ramp at Hadley Park in Lowell.

By Emma Stickgold and Matthew Collette, Globe Correspondents

Bay State residents headed outside today to bask in the record-high temperatures, a welcome relief from last week's bitter cold.

The temperature crested at 67 degrees in Boston at 2:15 p.m., said National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Simpson. That's 3 degrees higher than the old record for the day of 64, set in 1930.

It's also 50 degrees higher than the high temperatures a week ago.

Worcester also set a record, edging up to 61 degrees at 12:20 p.m., breaking the old record of 58 set back in 1930.

Soaking in the warmth, hikers are taking to the trails, and surfers are out in droves today along the Cape Cod National Seashore.

"We have more hikers than usual yesterday and today -- people are coming out and maybe doing a morning hike before work, or taking time in the afternoon to take a hike. It's not very windy either, which is nice," said chief ranger Steve Prokop.

The warmth has also brought people out on Revere Beach. "We are getting slammed," said Kelly's Roast Beef shift supervisor Tammy Fogerty. "I heard it was quiet yesterday, but we've been busy today since 10:30 this morning. We have a bunch of people surrounding us."

Chuck Holmes, the golf director at the Cape Cod Country Club in Falmouth, said that 150 to 200 people are teeing off today.

Holmes said that the golf course is open as long as there isn't frost on the ground, but the crowd today is much bigger than normal.

"I think everybody took the day off. It's like a weekend, man," he said.

The all-time record high for January is 72, which was recorded on Jan. 26, 1950, said Simpson. A prolonged southwest flow has brought warm air up from the Gulf of Mexico.

The bad news? The warm weather won’t last. Simpson said temperatures are going to drop to the mid-50s tomorrow and gradually head downward from there.