Just before 10 a.m. Monday the temperature at the Raleigh-Durham Airport finally climbed above freezing. That was the first time the temperature had been above 32 since the very early morning hours of December 31.

According to information from the National Weather Service in Raleigh, the temperature was below freezing at RDU for exactly 200 hours and 19 minutes. That marks the longest stretch of subfreezing temperatures on record for the Triangle. The records for the RDU date back to the 1940s.

The warming trend after last week's frigid weather continues Tuesday. With partly cloudy skies, temperatures will warm to the 50s over most of central North Carolina.  

Mostly cloudy skies Wednesday may keep highs in the upper 40s to near 50 around the Triangle and the low to mid 50s in the Sandhills. However, much warmer weather is still forecast for the end of the week. Highs should top out in the low 60s Thursday and near 70 Friday.

Rain chances are expected with the warmer temperatures. Much of the region should see around a half-inch to an inch-and-a-half of rain from Thursday afternoon through Friday night.