Nearly three weeks ago on Groundhog's Day, the prognosticator of prognosticators, Punxsutawney Phil, made his bold prediction. This time, the large rodent may have been right with a forecast based solely on seeing his shadow and not science. Phil called for an early spring. 

If one were to look at the past few weeks, February has been unusually mild. Much of Wisconsin is dealing with a severe snow drought. Many local lakes and rivers have open water. Typically, in late February, winter sports are still in full swing. This year, everything is taking a pause. 

A vast majority of the state is seeing their warmest February on record. That's impressive, since records for the state date back to 1893. 

Moving forward, the very mild and above-average pattern persists into March. The next seven to 10 days will see highs well into the 50s and possibly 60s. To put things into perspective, average highs for February should be in the 30s. Temperatures are trending 20-25 degrees above typical values. 

The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) posted their recent forecast for the next eight to 14 days. It calls for much of the state to be well above normal through the first week of March.

Even further down the road, the monthly outlook continues the warmer-than-normal pattern into April.

We many experience a few cold snaps along the way, but most should be very brief. We've reached the point where average temperatures start climbing. Heading into March, the standard for daytime highs will be the 40s.

We are now 28 days away from the start of spring. It may not be officially spring yet, but it sure will feel like it over the next few weeks.

Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.