It may be a little early yet to start tanning on the Green or cranking up air-conditioners, but temperatures felt spring-like enough on Monday that students were sporting flip-flops, miniskirts and shorts.
Temperatures hit 48 degrees Fahrenheit, and most weather services predict relatively warm weather in the coming week.
WCAX-Burlington meteorologist Sharon Meyer said that the recent spell of warm weather has been a pleasant surprise.
"The weather is certainly above average," Meyer said.
The average temperature for March 1 is 33 degrees. A record high of 59 degrees was set in 1954. A record low of -14 degrees for the date was set in 1948.
Even with temperatures nearing 50 degrees, skiing conditions have not drastically deteriorated at the Dartmouth Skiway, according to the Skiway's director Doug Holler.
"We've got great skiing right now," Holler said. "The conditions are real good."
The Skiway is slated to remain open until March 28, weather permitting, Holler said.
Despite the higher-than-normal temperatures recently, Meyer said this winter has been anything but mild overall. Rather, it has been on par with last year.
"Both winters were abnormally cold by nearly 10 degrees on average," Meyer said.
The only major difference between the two winters, Meyer said, was that this year, the coldest days of the winter mainly occurred during January.
On the other hand, the cold days that took place last year were scattered indiscriminately throughout the season, Meyer said.
Meyer warned that winter is not over just yet. Temperatures should drop off a bit in the short-run and it may snow again this season, Meyer said. And warm temperatures now don't guarantee a warm spring.
Despite surviving a frigid January that regularly featured -20 degree temperatures and was the coldest in at least a decade, most students said that the weather this winter has not felt like the bitter and protracted winter of traditional Dartmouth lore, or even of recent years.
In 2001, wintry conditions persisted through Dimensions Weekend.
In 2002, it snowed during Green Key Weekend in mid-May following an exceptionally mild winter.
"This winter wasn't that bad," Kathryn Clark '07 said. "Generally the weather wasn't extremely cold."
Still, students are enjoying the warm weather while it lasts.
Men and women's lacrosse have braved the cold outside at practice for over a month, but the recent temperature rise saw that more students have participated in outdoor activities atypical to the Dartmouth winter.
On Monday, a T-shirt clad Danielle Ricci '05 ate lunch on the Collis porch watching one of her favorite warm-weather activities: streaking the Green. "I was going to do it last Friday because it was warm enough then," Ricci said. "I should streak the Green soon though."
