Wednesday expected to be one of the warmest February days on record for Kansas City

A couple weather records could be shattered if Kansas City reaches its expected high temperature on Wednesday.

With the high expected to climb to 78 degrees Wednesday afternoon, Kansas City is likely to break the previous record of 73 degrees set for this date in 1917 and 1982.

And it would set a record for the earliest that Kansas City has been this warm.

Only two other February days have been warmer than 78 degrees: Feb. 24, 1930, when the high climbed to 81 degrees, and Feb. 29, 1972, when the high climbed to 83 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, Mo.

There will be an elevated threat for wildfires Wednesday afternoon across the metro area because of low humidity and southwest winds of 10 to 20 mph.

The warm weather is expected to continue Thursday, with the high expected to be near 70 degrees. That’s about 25 degrees above the normal temperature in the mid-40s for this time of year.

There’s a chance for rain and thunderstorms Thursday afternoon and evening, mainly north of Interstate 70, according to the weather service.

Temperatures return to near normal for the weekend, with a high near 50 degrees expected Friday, 42 degrees for Saturday and near 50 degrees on Sunday.

Sub-freezing overnight lows will likely return Friday night through Sunday night. There is a chance for snow late Friday, but only minor accumulations, if any, will be limited to far northern Missouri, according to the weather service.

Chances of widespread precipitation will return next week, along with a brief period of snow. The snow, however, is not expected to accumulate before it transitions to rain, according to the weather service.

This story was originally published February 22, 2017 at 8:11 AM with the headline "Wednesday expected to be one of the warmest February days on record for Kansas City."