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Tri-State Area Basks In Unusually Warm Winter Weather; Temps Hit 70 Degrees

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Winter? What winter?

Today's forecast is further evidence this winter has been one of the more comfortable ones in memory.

Temperatures hit 70 degrees in The Big Apple this afternoon. New Yorkers are taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather before a cold front moves in, bringing with it the possibility of heavier rain this weekend, according to CBS 2 Meteorologist John Elliott.

The cold front is expected to roll in at around 9-10 p.m. bringing heavy rain overnight.

Click here to check the current weather conditions.

1010 WINS' John Montone reports

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We're not going to set any records, but considering the average high in New York City for March is 48 degrees, we'll take it.

"It's going to be a pretty day. It's going to be an unusual day," Elliott said. However, no records are expected to be set.

The warm weather has folks in our area talking.

"I missed winter. I really did. I wished we had a little bit more snow, would've loved to have a" one commuter told WCBS 880's Paul Murnane.

LISTEN: WCBS 880's Paul Murnane With Commuters In Hartsdale

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"It could be fool's gold, we could have a horrible summer," another said.

"I'm afraid that the summer's going to be too hot. It's very unfortunate. I don't miss snow here, but there should be snow in the mountains and nearby," another man said.

"Now it's nice... it's like spring," a woman named Rita told 1010 WINS' John Montone.

1010 WINS' Juliet Papa reports

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"We don't know what the heck's going on," two joggers on the Brooklyn Bridge told Montone.

With this ultra warm winter weather, many have noticed how bushes and bulbs are already blooming.

But Steven Hicks, owner of Hicks Nurseries in Westbury, said not to worry.

LISTEN: WCBS 880's Pat Farnack With Steven Hicks

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(Download the full interview HERE)

"Plants will develop their buds and leaves based on the outside temperatures and the signals they get from nature. I think, at the end of the day, it's going to mean that we're going to have an earlier spring in terms of lilacs and forsythia and other plants blooming and starting to leaf out," he told WCBS 880's Pat Farnack. "Barring a real deep freeze that kicks in that might cause some damage to flower buds."

"Is there anything we can do to preserve the buds or anything like that or we should just let nature take its course?" asked Farnack.

"Really, there's nothing that you can do. You really can't control the weather. You can't control Mother Nature. If there was a prediction for a really heavy deep freeze or a dramatic reversal and you had a plant or an area that you really wanted to protect on a temporary basis overnight, you could protect it by wrapping it, if it was bulbs coming up through the ground, put a towel over them," answered Hicks.

You could also put a sheet over a bed of bulbs.

LISTEN: WCBS 880's Marla Diamond In Central Park

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According to Sandy Taylor, the weather is, in a word: "delicious." Taylor was out for a jog in Central Park and she had company.

Runner Jerome Wardjo noticed all the spring attire. "A lot of shorts, t-shirts, you know. Very light clothing, giving that extra energy, that extra push," he told WCBS 880 reporter Marla Diamond.

He said the park drive was more crowded than normal around the noon hour. "Very crowded. If you walk over to the reservoir, it's very crowded. A lot of people out," he said. "It's a good day to call in sick."

What do you make of the warm weather? Sound off in our comments section below. 

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