Southern Maine experienced record warmth Thursday, but an old New England refrain – enjoy it while you can, because it can change in an instant – applies.

Thursday’s high in Portland was 57, besting the old record for Feb. 16 of 51, set in 1981. In Augusta, thermometers hit 55, eclipsing the previous record high for the date of 53, set in 2006.

National Weather Service meteorologist Derek Schroeter said much of the country experienced warmth Thursday, thanks to a weather pattern that brought in warm Pacific air from the Southwest. In New England, a high-pressure system off the East Coast brought that warm air up from the South.

But Schroeter said a change is in the air and low pressure in the Midwest will move east tonight, touching off rain and fog overnight and tomorrow morning. Then, winds will shift to the northwest and bring in cooler air, he said. That means highs Saturday will retrench and be in the low-to-mid 30s for much of Maine and in the 20s in the mountains.

Then the pattern will reset early next week, bringing back temperatures in the 40s Sunday, near 50 on Monday – particularly in York County – and in the 40s again Tuesday. However, colder air will return at the end of next week, with high temperatures running a few degrees below normal, which is 37 for late February.

And things don’t look much better once February ends. Schroeter said a longer-range forecast calls for temperatures in March running slightly below normal, so there’s no early spring expected, despite Thursday’s record-setting warmth.

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