Unseasonably warm weather in the Bismarck region this week has become record heat, worsening tinder-dry conditions.
The temperature at the Bismarck airport on Wednesday rose to 62 degrees, breaking the March 3 record of 61 set almost a century ago in 1905, according to the National Weather Service.
Warm arm flowing from the Pacific and supplanting the arctic air that blanketed the state last month is causing the balmy conditions. Less than three weeks ago, Bismarck had a record-low temperature for Feb. 13 of minus 28 90 degrees colder than Wednesday s high.
The down side to the change in the weather pattern is that it hasn t been accompanied by precipitation.Â