While winter will not officially end until late March, the coldest weather of the season has likely passed.
On average, January is the coldest month of the year, said National Weather Service meteorologist Phil Peterson.
The average January 2008 temperature in Northeast Florida was 54.8 degrees, down from last year's January average of 57.5 degrees.
So far this winter, temperatures have departed from their averages each month in different directions.
November was colder than normal, while December was warmer that normal, Peterson said.
"It's been up and down," he added.
Through April, however, temperatures are expected to be back to normal, which means averages in the 60s, according to the National Weather Service Web site.
The lowest temperatures over the next week are not expected to dip below 40 degrees, except on Saturday, when the low is 38 degrees, according to The Weather Channel's Web site.
However, the highest temperatures are predicted to be much higher than they have been, rarely dropping below 70 degrees except over the weekend, according to the site.
The highs are predicted to be in the 80s today and Wednesday.
For a forecast of the next five days, see Page 2.
