Leon Reyes taps a maple tree Monday along Stonewall Road in Sabattus. The sugaring season is a week to 10 days ahead of schedule because of the warm weather, according to Ed Jillson of Jillson’s Farm & Sugarhouse. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

LEWISTON — Get out the sunblock and, for the bold, consider a tank top: Maine is expecting record-breaking temperatures Wednesday, with a way-above-average high of 67 expected in Lewiston and Portland.

It is welcome, but fleeting: We should be back into the 40s, with the chance of rain and snow showers, by the end of the week, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Schwibs.

“It’s a one-hit wonder,” Schwibs said Monday. “You look what we had in December, early January and we were struggling to get above zero and we had lows overnight of 20 below zero. We had all that really record-cold weather, so now it’s flipping the other way.”

The average historical temperature for Feb. 21 is a mere 32 degrees, measured in Portland. And the last record high for the month of February was 64, set in 1957. 

Schwibs said credit this time goes to a high off the coast. That high is circulating abnormally warm air north. 

“You have the right set of conditions, you can get warm this time of year,” he said. “Relatively speaking for February, that’s about a heat wave.”

A cold front Thursday is expected to knock temperatures back down to 41, and they will hover from highs of 37 to 43 through Sunday — along with a chance of rain and snow most days.

But let’s not dwell on that just yet.

For now, let’s savor the chance for 65 degrees.

At Fielder’s Choice in Auburn, the only location in that local chain to stay open all winter, they are adding two extra workers for Wednesday, just in case.

“We’ve definitely been seeing a lot more people coming out lately with the warmer temperatures,” manager Vannessa Wright said. “We have plenty (of homemade ice cream) stocked up ready to go.”

At Dairy Queen in Auburn, general manager Brandy Shadle said it is difficult to forecast crowds. He said people might be traveling during school-vacation week. Skiers, meantime, are likely enjoying the slopes. 

“We’re hoping we see a lot of people,” she said.

Shelley Kruszewski, executive director at the Androscoggin Land Trust, is urging that people take advantage of the weather to walk, snowshoe or cross-country ski at trails such as Garcelon Bog, Riverside Greenway and Thorncrag in Lewiston or Sherwood, Barker Mill and Mt. Apatite in Auburn.

“Wednesday would be a great day to get out and hear about some of the local history,” Kruszewski said, “as you walk along and across the river in downtown Auburn and Lewiston using ALT’s smartphone history tour app that provides a narrated tour to listen to as you walk.”

Be part of a record-breaking day and take in some history, tank top optional.

kskelton@sunjournal.com