Spring fever has hit State College -- or at least that is how things look.

On Friday night, students lined up outside Cafe 210 West, 210 W. College Ave., to sit outdoors at the tables and chairs, which had already been taken inside for some time. Students all over campus have been spotted in shorts and T-shirts and birds have been chirping again.

One student cast aside his winter clothes for a bit. Wearing shorts and a T-shirt, Eric Glantz (senior-accounting and international business) looked pleased.

"It's nice to bare my flesh again," Glantz said.

The unseasonably warm weather State College has been experiencing is a combination of many factors, senior meteorologist Bob Larson of Accu-Weather said.

A large storm on the Virginia and North Carolina border, in the western parts of the states, has created a low pressure area, Larson said. Wind east of the low pressure area is coming from the south at all levels of the atmosphere, allowing southern atmospheric conditions to be brought up to the eastern seaboard, Larson said.

"This is an extreme weather event," he said, adding that no record highs have been reached.

The normal high for Jan. 15 is 32 degrees, and the normal low is 16 degrees, he said. The weather yesterday reached a high of 61 degrees, and a low of 59 degrees. The low of 59 degrees is more phenomenal than the high of 61 degrees, he said.

Highs and lows are determined by averaging highs and lows over a 30 year sample, Larson said.

However, the storm alone is not enough to keep weather warm, Larson said. The minimal snow has kept the ground from remaining cool, he said. Hot and humid temperatures along the east were also factors in this heat wave.

Whatever the reason, students are taking advantage of the weather. Jonathan DiRienzi and Paul Thomas were outside this weekend.

"We've been doing a lot more outdoors stuff," said Thomas (freshman-chemical engineering).

"Throwing the football around, again," added DiRienzi (senior-computer science).

But Larson warns this weather is not going to last, so maybe those winter clothes should not be put too far away.

By the end of the week, temperatures should get cooler, though not cold, he said. There is a possibility of snow Thursday night or Friday, he said.