MILWAUKEE COUNTY

Milwaukee temperature hits 66 degrees, shatters record

Jacob Carpenter, and John Schmid
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

If you happened to be in Los Angeles, Las Vegas or Nashville on Saturday and wanted to find warmer weather, there was a place for you.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

High temperatures surged to 66 degrees in the city on Saturday, shattering a 140-year-old record and sending hordes of cooped-up Wisconsinites out into the practically balmy outdoors. The unseasonably warm temperatures — the average high for mid-February is 33 degrees — meant the thermometer in Wisconsin went higher than cities throughout Alabama, Arizona, California and Tennessee (but, alas, not Florida).

Courtney Pelletier (right) of Wauwatosa chips her ball onto the 9th green as Jeff Overley (left) and Mike Rettie, also from Wauwatosa, enjoy playing a round at Lincoln Park Golf Course Saturday amid unusually warm weather.

When Davide Sairu of Italy moved to Milwaukee in mid-December, his adoptive city was encrusted in snow and ice. But when the flight attendant for Norwegian Airlines returned to Milwaukee from his latest international flight, the city had been magically transformed.

“Today, it looks like the Mediterranean,” reminding him of home, he said Saturday on the lakefront as he admired the placid cerulean coastline. It’s the first time the city didn’t resemble the North Pole, the 27-year-old said.

A mile north at Bradford Beach, a volleyball club had set up their net in the sand. Paul Murray, one of the volleyball enthusiasts, has been playing beach volleyball on the lakefront every weekend for almost 20 years, from May through October. This was the first time his group has ever played in mid-February — much less topless and without shoes.

The temperature at General Mitchell International Airport hit the mid-60s degrees at about 2:45 p.m., well above the previous high of 57 degrees set on Feb. 18, 1877, according to the National Weather Service.

It was the second straight day of record highs. The temperature reached 64 degrees on Friday, smashing the prior record of 55 degrees for Feb. 17.

One record does remain intact: the February high of 68 degrees, set in 1999.

Bikers joined walkers, runners and others enjoying an access road behind the Marcus Amphitheater near Lakeshore State Park Saturday, as temperatures in Milwaukee hit the 60s.

National Weather Service meteorologist Ben Schott said a low pressure system out west and storms in the south have pushed the warm air into the Midwest this weekend, which has combined with abundant sunshine.

"Those two have allowed us to sit here and enjoy this warmer weather," Schott said.

Across the city, residents have had a reprieve from cabin fever, hitting outdoor spots like golf courses and the Milwaukee County Zoo.

Vera Westphal, the zoo's deputy director of administration and finance, said cars were lined up several blocks deep, waiting to get in Saturday. About 9,100 people had entered the zoo by the early afternoon. On a typical February day, about 1,800 people are expected, she said.

"It's all hands on deck," Westphal said. "Who expects 60 degree temps in February? So we're all working hard, and we tried to get as many people in here to help as we could."

At Milwaukee County's Lincoln and Grant golf courses, every tee time was booked between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Saturday, said Joe Mrozinski, assistant chief of business development for Milwaukee County Parks. Nearly 300 golfers played the courses Friday, with another 400 teeing off on Saturday.

"There's more demand than there is supply right now," Mrozinski said. "We're definitely encouraging people to get out and enjoy the golf courses into next week."

Abnormally warm temperatures are expected to stick around the next five days, with highs in the 50s. By Friday, high temperatures will return to 30s, with rain and a bit of snow in the forecast.

"But we're a week away from that," Schott said. "So hopefully everyone will enjoy the 50s."