Record warm temperatures hit

Temperatures hit a record 71 degrees in Carson City and surrounding areas Friday, leaving some struggling with spring fever in the middle of winter.

"(Students) seem a little more squirmy, wanting to be outside," said teacher Casey Gilles. "It's that end-of-the-year feeling we usually don't see until May."

The previous Carson City record was set at 64 degrees in 1986.

The mercury also rose to 71 degrees in Reno, breaking the previous daily record of 67 degrees set in 1967. It also broke the monthly record set Jan. 15, 1967, at 70 degrees.

But meteorologist Mark Brown of the National Weather Service said there is a change in the forecast, with a chance of rain today and possibly snow in the mountains.

Temperatures are expected to drop into the high 40s to mid 50s over the next few days.

The recent warm temperatures have water experts worried Nevada may be entering into its fourth-straight drought year.

The snowpack in the Truckee River Basin was measured at 124 percent of normal, down from 126 percent measured on Jan. 30 2002.

But Jacob Roll, 7, sees a benefit to the unusually warm weather -- it's better for playing kickball.

"You don't have to wear your jacket," he said. "You can just wear a long-sleeved shirt so you won't get so hot."

Jacob has been tracking the weather with his classmates in Gilles' class. He noticed the difference Friday afternoon.

"It was warmer," he said. "It was sweaty at recess."