Yesterday's spring weather was widely celebrated in the State College community by Penn State students donning flip-flops and residents relaxing outside of College Avenue restaurants.

Temperatures were anything but typical for early March.

Yesterday's high of 75 tied the record daily temperature set in 1990, AccuWeather meteorologist John Gresiak said.

The average temperatures for March start out with a high of 40 and progress to a high of 52 by the end of the month, he added.

"It made it a little bit easier coming back from warm weather and spring break," Elizabeth Luley (senior-electrical engineering) said.

However, the higher temperatures will not be here for long.

"The cold weather is on its way back. By this time tomorrow, the temperatures will be back in the 30s," he said.

Forecasters predict a possible 1-inch snowfall on Thursday or Friday.

"We might have a white St. Patty's Day," Gresiak said.

The State College community can expect to see low temperatures and cold winds throughout the rest of the week.

"This weather is very short-lived," said Alexander McGinnis, a Campus Weather Service forecaster.

The cold air was expected to return as early as this morning, he said. The forecasts also show a few more weeks of cold March weather for State College, he added.

Students were pleased with yesterday's unseasonably high temperatures, but they were disappointed with today's bitter predictions.

"It's a nice change, but it's almost like a tease, too, because we know it's not going to last," Suzanne Johnson (junior-microbiology) said.

This change back to a cold weather pattern will be disappointing for warm-weather lovers, he added.

But for the State College area, snow, like the cold weather, is expected at this time of year.

"March is the best month for snow in State College," McGinnis said.

Cold temperatures do not leave very quickly in this region, either, Gresiak said.

It is especially chilly because the surrounding mountains block warm air, he added.

In spite of a less-than-spring-like forecast, future temperatures throughout the rest of the winter and spring can be anything but average, Gresiak said, and the weather can go from one extreme to another.

Some students agreed that State College weather is very unpredictable.

"It's kind of hard to adjust to the different fluctuations of temperature," Kaitlin Feeney (junior-landscape contracting).