After a cold, snowy winter and a soggy start to March, relief is on the way as temperatures are expected to blossom to nearly 70 on Friday.
The forecast calls for a high of 62 on Thursday, just in time for the St. Patrick's Day Parade, and then even warmer the day after. The weekend will be cooler, with temperatures in the 50s.
The surge of pleasant weather this week comes after a long, dark season that brought several feet of snow to our area.
And parts of New Jersey have also been suffering major flooding in recent days.
Federal Emergency Management Agency officials began assessing the damage in northern New Jersey Wednesday.
Inspectors from FEMA and the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management were on the ground touring flood-ravaged neighborhoods, and might continue working through the weekend, if necessary.
"They look at the damage, they look at how intense that damage is, they look at whether people can go back into their homes," said Mary Goepfert, of OEM.
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Goepfert said authorities will document the damage as part of the first steps toward requesting more federal help. It was too early to give an estimate for the cost of the flooding in the area, she said.
If the damage is bad enough, a disaster declaration will be sent to President Barack Obama.
Meanwhile, no significant rain is expected through the weekend.
Check back with NBC New York for the latest on forecasts, severe alerts and up-to-the-minute weather information.
