More than 300 daily record highs broken this week in February heat wave

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February heat wave

Record warm temperatures continue across the center of the country and will start to shift east. Find out how warm your city will be.

Another warm day is ahead for the Plains and Midwest, leaving residents to feel as if winter is on thin ice, with no arctic air or snowstorms in the near future.

A heat wave of sorts is underway across the U.S. this week. While it’s not of the triple-digit summer variety, it’s got many places that should be shivering feeling more like spring.

More than 300 daily record highs have been broken this week thanks to a stubborn ridge of high pressure currently sitting above the U.S.-Canada border and the strong Pacific jet stream, the FOX Forecast Center said. The jet is helping bring mild Pacific air across the country while the ridge of high pressure further warms the air by forcing it to sink and warm slowly.

Over 234 million of us, from Washington to Maine, will see above-average temperatures on Friday. The warmth pushes east for the weekend.

WE'VE ENTERED THE PEAK TIME OF YEAR FOR MAJOR NORTHEAST WINTER STORMS

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There will be significantly fewer daily record-high temperatures in the coming days compared to the past few days. In addition, no monthly temperature records are expected to be broken. 

However, on Thursday, Chicago and Minneapolis broke record highs. Chicago is forecast to be 10 to 15 degrees above average on Friday and Minneapolis could feel temperatures 20 to 30 degrees above average.

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While cold fronts will cool temperatures across the West and Northeast this weekend, the FOX Forecast Center said the warmth shows no signs of budging across the central states. Far-above-average temperatures are likely to continue right through the end of next week.

STRONG EL NINO WINTER: WHAT KIND OF WEATHER YOU CAN EXPECT

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A word of caution: Winter is not over yet, and it appears winter's chill will return in February.