Borderland got relief from winter preparation last weekend and early this week as temperatures reached up into the 50s Sunday and Monday.

Both days saw record-breaking high temperatures with Sunday coming in at 54 degrees to tie the previous record set in 2001. Monday’s high of 54 degrees broke the old record of 50 degrees set back in 1925.

Greg Frosig, meteorologist with the Duluth National Weather Service, explained to The Journal that a westerly air flow contributed to making the readings on thermometers “a little bit on the unusual side” for this time of year.

“Pacific air came in over the Rockies and made it all the way into the upper Midwest,” Frosig said of the warmer-than-usual temperatures for the second half of November.

In addition to the air flow, the normal Canadian northwesterly winds were kept out of the area — but not for long.

A cold front on the afternoon of Thanksgiving came down from our northern neighbors to send temperatures dropping throughout the holiday.

Frosig described the cold front as “very strong” and noted the high on Thursday was around 9 a.m.

“With Canadian cold fronts, the air flow is much cooler,” the meteorologist said. “It brings behind it some strong northwest winds.”

On Wednesday, Frosig said he expects to see a rain and snow mixture covering the ground Thursday afternoon, and tapering off Friday night.

According to the National Weather Service website, the weekend outlook is more on the normal track. While it is forecasted to be partly sunny Saturday, the high is expected to be 23 degrees with a chance of snow coming in later at night.

Sunday, a chance of light snow with a high of 25 degrees is expected, according to the site.

“Last weekend to this weekend will be a quick change,” Frosig said. “We’re going to return to normal weather for this time of year.”

Frosig said that typically, November is the cloudiest month of the year as a result of system movement. However, this year, there have been more “clipper systems” and more days of full sunshine, he said.

“There are quite a few days we’ve seen plenty of sunshine up in the Falls,” he said. “That is a result of the warmer temps.”

He also noted the thunderstorms Nov. 10 and Nov. 19 are not uncommon, but rare. “Again, its those warmer temps that cause the thunderstorms,” he said. “That Pacific air mass hovered over us for almost a week.”

The average temperature for November is 30.1 degrees, and so far, Borderland has achieved an average of 40 degrees this year.

So far, the area has had eight November days with a trace of snow and Frosig said the most accumulation came Nov. 12 with just under an inch.

He continued that history shows the white stuff is usually here to stay for a few months anywhere between Nov. 10-20.

“We’re already out of the woods for this year, so it’ll be interesting to see when it comes to hang around for awhile,” he said. “After we get that first inch to stick, it’ll continue to pile up throughout the winter.”

For a complete forecast, visit www.crh.noaa.gov/dlh.

For road and travel conditions, visit www.511mn.org.