Yesterday's steady rain showers are a sign the warm weather State College has enjoyed over the past week will soon come to an end.

National Weather Service forecaster Paul Head said he predicts that the rest of the week will be beautiful and warm, with temperatures reaching a high of 55 degrees tomorrow, about 20 degrees above the normal average.

But Alex Sosnowski, senior forensic meteorologist at AccuWeather, said the mild temperatures will be interrupted this weekend. He added that weather patterns typically last four to six weeks and that the current pattern is likely at its conclusion, beginning with lower temperatures over the weekend.

"It's too early in the season for it to get warm and to stay warm," he said. "It is unlikely for it to stay mild like this for too much longer."

Tomorrow, though warm, will likely bring drenching downpours and possible thunderstorms, while Saturday and Sunday will be much colder across the area, with the high temperatures in the mid-30s, Sosnowski said.

"We're at the end of a relatively warm weather pattern," he added.

Different meteorologists credit various reasons for the high temperatures over the past two weeks.

Sosnowski said the reason for the mild weather is a lack of Arctic air since the last week of December.

Paul Knight, meteorology instructor and Pennsylvania state climatologist, said the entire country is dominated by air from the Pacific Ocean, which is generally mild. This air, directed by the jet stream, is reaching all

the way to the East Coast, he said.

Adam Bell (senior-meterology) said, in terms of last year, this winter has not been unusually warm. However, the jet stream was further north this year and the moisture has gone with it, leading to the relatively dry period that occurred.

"We've been in this warmer pattern, but it's changing with the rain [yesterday] and then cooler weather will follow," Bell added.

The current warm temperatures are not incredibly unusual for winter, Sosnowski said.

During the first 22 days of December, the average temperature was 8 degrees below average. But since Dec. 23, the average temperatures have been 9.4 degrees above average, he said.

Sosnowski cited a similar weather pattern that occurred in 1989, when December was "wickedly cold" but January was mild.

At this point in time, the averages from the cold December and warm January have averaged out to reach the normal temperatures, Sosnowski said. The rest of the winter months will feel more like winter, he added.

Knight said there are several indications the cold air will return.

"I wish that the warm temperatures could continue until late February and it would never get colder," he said.