OWASCO - Jim Mead doesn't have a problem playing golf in the cold. Mead, 60, of Auburn, will play a round at the Owasco Country Club when temperatures dip into the 30s.

“As long as there is no snow on the ground, I will play any time,” said Mead, a country club member.

So with weather more typical of mid-April than mid-winter, there was no question about how to spend Monday afternoon. Mead took his friend, Rick Orser, 63, of Weedsport, to play nine holes.

“I would say 60 degrees in January is ideal,” Mead said. “I even had to take off my sweatshirt.”

Cayuga County and much of the Mid-Atlantic saw record-breaking warmth Monday.

With an offshore high pressure system continuing to bring warm air up from the south, Central New York residents can count on keeping their sweatshirts in their closets for another day, according to the National Weather Service.

In Auburn, the high Monday was 60 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking the date's all-time record of 59 degrees set in 2007, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University.

If today's forecast of 64 degrees comes true in Auburn, it will surpass the date's previous record high of 54 degrees, set in 1930.

At Hancock International Airport, in Syracuse, the National Weather Service reported a Monday high of 64 degrees, smashing the city's previous record for Jan. 6 of 50 degrees.

According to Brian Lovejoy, a meteorologist with the NWS in Binghamton, a cold front from the Midwest is expected to move east tonight, causing temperatures in the area to drop about 20 degrees through Wednesday.

“Temperatures are still going to be above normal until this weekend,” Lovejoy said.

According to the NWS, there is a chance of showers this afternoon in Auburn, with a projected high near 61 degrees. Rain is expected tonight, with a low of around 43 and a south wind between 14 and 21 miles per hour. Tomorrow, expect rain in the morning with a chance of snow showers after 1 p.m. with highs near 45 degrees and an overnight low of around 30, according to the NWS.

Lovejoy said that the brief warm spell has not had as much of an affect on the region as it could. If there was more snow on the ground and the warm weather was coupled with heavier rain, it could have led to flooding.

“For the most part, there was less than six inches (of snow) on the ground, ... and it did not cause any flooding,” Lovejoy said.

While the mild temperatures had Mead reaching for his golf clubs, fans of another kind of golf had to deal with some flooding of their own. Brian Woodard, 21, of Union Springs, was sporting a pair of rubber boots Monday afternoon while he readied his equipment for a round of disc golf. Much of the course across from Emerson Park was covered in mud.

“I prefer playing in the snow because all of this would be frozen over,” said Woodard, who plays almost every day. “I don't like it this muddy, but when it is this warm, it is definitely worth it.”

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.

It isn't a January record - yet

While 64 degrees is warm for the winter, it is not the highest January temperature the city has seen. On Jan. 21, 1906, Auburn recorded a high of 70 degrees, which is the city's warmest for the month on record, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University.