The last time Duluth was this warm? 1903

DULUTH — Did it seem like Wednesday was the balmiest it's ever felt on an early November day in Duluth?

You were right, at least in your lifetime. The city tied a 119-year-old temperature record Wednesday with a high of 71 degrees.

Old records were broken Wednesday in Brainerd, Minn., and Ashland, Wis., too: A 65 degree record from 1917 was smashed by a 75-degree day in Brainerd, and a 70-degree record set in 1938 in Ashland was broken by a high of 76 degrees.

The area has been stuck in a "summerish" weather pattern, avoiding outbreaks of cold air, said Joe Moore, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Duluth.

Warm air from the Gulf of Mexico is traveling north because of high pressure — mild and dry — conditions in the eastern part of the country, he said, which isn't typical for this time of year.

"Normally, we expect more of an active weather pattern, where we have a strong cold front coming through bringing in Canadian air," Moore said.

The warm and dry fall means high risk for wildfire: The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has issued burning restrictions for nearly the entire state.

But shivers and snow are headed to northern Minnesota: Moore said a cold front is on its way and could lead to about a half-inch in Duluth by Saturday morning.