BOSTON — New England is going from the Big Snow to the Big Melt.

After winter storms dumped nearly nine feet of snow over the course of a month, many parts of the region will see milder weather this week and some much-needed snow melting.

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A pedestrian and dogs walk along a wet sidewalk lined with melting snow in Boston on Monday as New England residents enjoy a trend toward warmer temperatures. The Associated Press

Temperatures in Boston on Monday returned to seasonal averages in the low to mid-40s and are expected to stay that way over the next two weeks, although temperatures will drop most nights. Some days may even approach 50 degrees.

For Boston area residents, it’s a welcome change after February’s frigid temperatures, relentless snows and nightmare commutes.

“Goodbye snow! That was just the worst year, ever,” said Wenflore Dubuisson, of Malden. “It was so bad. My God, I don’t even want to think about it anymore.”

Jean Borgard said Monday was the first day in a long time that he commuted from his home in Randolph to Boston without the usual extra layer of winter clothes.

“It’s taken a long time to get to this point,” he said. “I think we were all hoping it would happen sooner than later.”

But forecasters caution that St. Patrick’s Day weekend may bring a wintry mix that could put Boston over the all-time winter snowfall record. The city is about two inches shy of the 107.6 record set during the 1995-96 season.

“We’ve come this far, we might as well go for the gold,” joked Jamie Coleman, of Scituate. “As long as it doesn’t become disruptive. It’s been a long slog.”

Forecasters also say this week’s warming temperatures will likely not make a big dent on towering snowbanks.

Bill Simpson, at the National Weather Service office in Taunton, says snowbanks may appear to have shrunk since the snows slowed at the end of February, but they’ve actually become denser and more compact with time. That means they’ll take longer to melt.

“It’s not going to be as significant as people think,” he said. “It’ll melt, but not a good chunk. We’ll lose maybe 10 percent of it. We’ve got a long way to go.”

Across New England, officials say they’re encouraged by what appears to be a steady melt, but they’re still preparing for the possibility of serious flooding.

“Things are going along as expected,” said Jeanne Richardson, a deputy director at the Boston Water and Sewer Commission. “Catch basins have been cleared and snow on top of them is melting. The system is working.”

Boston kept on top of the snow in part by using four industrial-strength ice melters. Lowell, Lawrence and other Massachusetts communities dumped snow into rivers and harbors.

Bonnie McGilpin, a spokeswoman for Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, said the melters helped Boston get rid of some 50,000 tons of snow before being powered down last week.

Elsewhere, officials are reminding residents that they have important roles to play as the region enters an especially messy mud season. Among top priorities are making sure neighborhood storm drains are cleared and residents have proper insurance if they live in flood-prone areas.

In Nashua, New Hampshire, volunteers are learning the proper technique for filling up sandbags, in anticipation of serious flooding.

And in Schenectady, New York, officials are encouraging residents living along the Mohawk River to preemptively move valuables out of basements and to be aware of evacuation routes.

Said Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy: “You don’t want to have to do the dramatic rescue where you have to send somebody in a boat and rescue people from upper floors.”

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