Forecast: Unseasonably Warm All Week!

SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) - It appears spring has sprung in Metro Detroit.

It's going to be much warmer than normal in Southeast Michigan - for at least the next week. That's according to WWJ-TV Chief Meteorologist Jim Madaus who's calling for a high in the low 70s on Wednesday, followed by several more days of unseasonably high temperatures.

Madaus said Metro Detroiters can expect a high right around 70 on Thursday, upper 60s on Friday and around 70 for Saturday and Sunday.  He said these temps will stick around next week as well, if not longer.

Madaus said the average high temperature for this week is only in the mid-40s, and, although you may be seeing Robins on our lawn, it's not time for spring planting just yet.

"The rule of thumb for the garden is always Memorial Day," said Madaus. "Even though it's really nice now there is no guarantee we wont get a frost one night yet before summer comes."

So, get your spring golfing in while you can.  According to Madaus, some of Michigan's biggest snow storms have come in April - and we're not necessarily out of the winter woods yet.

As for the rest of the nation, forecasters are predicting this could be the warmest spring since 2004 - making for a more active severe weather season in some areas.

"As far as the forecast for the spring of 2012, we do feel like it's going to be a mild spring for most of the nation from the eastern Rockies into the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes area," Paul Pastelok, expert long-range meteorologist and leader of the AccuWeather.com Long-Range Forecasting Team, said. "At least two-thirds of the nation could wind up with above-normal temperatures."

AccuWeather says rounds of wet weather with an active start to the severe weather season are in store for the Deep South, including eastern Texas and the Gulf states, during March.  More frequent bouts of rain and severe weather will migrate northward to the mid-Mississippi and Ohio valleys during April and May. (More on this here).

For the latest local conditions, keep your radio tuned to WWJ Newsradio 950 for traffic and weather, every 10 minutes on the 8s. To check the forecast anytime, visit our weather page.