Monthly temperatures in the Twin Cities have been running above normal for 17 straight months, and the next few days of balmy weather will keep that streak going.

On Friday, thermometers in the Twin Cities rose to 47, falling short of the record high of 49 degrees recorded on Feb. 10, 1877, according to Rick Hiltbrand, a forecaster at the National Weather Service in Chanhassen.

Friday’s temperatures in the Twin Cities were well above the average high of 27 degrees and lows of 11 degrees, and readings in the 30s and 40s will hang around at least through late next week.

Winter is not finished, but sustained cold snaps are “definitely behind us,” said Weather Service meteorologist Tony Zaleski. Temperatures may occasionally dip to near zero over the next month, but “unless we get some snow, the odds of that are pretty slim,” he said.

Outside of a chance of rain and snow on Saturday night, little precipitation is expected for the next seven days, the Weather Service says. Saturday’s high is expected to be 40. Temperatures will dip into the mid-30s Sunday, then rebound to 41 on Monday. Highs in the 30s are forecast for Tuesday through Thursday, with sunny to partly sunny skies.

According to Kenny Blumenfeld at the Minnesota DNR’s state Climatology Office, the current streak of 17 above-normal months is unprecedented in the Twin Cities. The next closest streak was 16 months in 2011-12 and 15 months in 2005-06 and 1920-21. However, he said, the historical warm spell from February 1930 through September 1932 was the most impressive on record, with 21 of those 33 months warmer than average. Jim Foster Graphic: Warmer than normal

The Climatology Office also said that only five of the past 32 months have been below normal in the Twin Cities. The last time there was a streak of 10 or more months with below-normal temperatures in the metro area was in 1964-65.

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