Students may need to pack away their shorts and tank tops

for a few days as the unseasonably warm temperatures Charleston

has been experiencing will cease for the rest of the week.

Monday and Saturday Charleston beat the record

temperatures for those dates. The record high for April 7 was

82 degrees in 1959, and the high on Saturday was 84 degrees,

while the record for April 9 was 84 degrees, and Monday’s high

was 85, said Dalias Price, local weather observer.

“This is quite unusual weather,” Price said.

Wednesday the temperatures will drop down to the low 60s

and warm up a few more degrees by the weekend. Possible

thunderstorms are expected midweek along with the cooler

temperatures, but no severe storms are in the forecast, Price

said.

Charleston is experiencing spring weather because of a

warm front that has moved across the Mississippi Valley and

into Illinois, Price said. Also, the fact that central Illinois

has not had much rainfall throughout March and the beginning of

April has contributed to the warmer weather.

In March, Charleston had only one inch of rainfall, as

opposed to the usual 3.5 inches and .17 inches so far this

month.

The lack of rain thus far this spring also has slowed the

development of greenery, Price said.

“The rush of greenery needs some precipitation to help it

along,” Price said.

Charleston has not had any tornadic activity yet this

spring, but April and May are the months with the most tornados

in central Illinois. In the far north and south, there has

already been tornado activity with some damages, so tornados

may be soon to come to this area, Price said.