Winter on the run?

After shutting down one of the nation's densest population corridors with record snowfalls, one might infer from the recent long-range forecasts that winter is feeling a bit winded.

The landscape is about to revert to its pre-Jan. 22 state with the vanishing of the snowpack remnants.

Philadelphia temperatures will make a run at the record Wednesday -- 62, set 10 years ago -- and rather than winter-storm warnings, the National Weather Service says heavy rains and melting snow likely will set off at least some minor flooding.

An advertised cold-air outbreak appears to be losing some of its steam, and if not off the table, a storm threat for next week is at least hanging over the edge.

This week's updated outlook by the government's Climate Prediction Center has the odds favoring above-normal temperatures around here in February and for the February through April period.

In its spring outlook issued Tuesday, AccuWeather Inc. said the region could expect a somewhat delayed onset for spring next month. That would be attributable in part to the powerful El Nino warming in the tropical Pacific, which tends to energize coastal storm tracks and leads to more wetness.

But while the company's ultra-extended 45-day forecasts shows no premature warm-up, on only two of those days does the temperature fail to hit at least 40.

As for what winter might have left, Paul Pastelok, AccuWeather's long-range forecaster, said that it's likely to be chilly during the next workweek. But with the disappearance of the refrigerant snow cover, the cold here won't resemble what chills places such as Des Moines and Chicago.

Some cold might return later in February and lap into early March and perhaps reappear in mid-March. Again, though, it wouldn't have much staying power, he said.

That doesn't mean that more snow is out of the question. He pointed out that the models continue to favor wetness to the southeast and that March could be wet in the East.  "There could be a sneaky snow in mid-March," he said.

This much is a certainty: The sun is about to get serious in turning up the wattage. We are entering one of the prime periods for solar-energy gain in the seasonal cycles. By mid-month, car interiors are going to feel a whole lot warmer on sunny afternoons.

If the outlooks are on to something, any snow that does land will have a short career.