George Washington, whose 274th birthday anniversary is today, probably saw chillier mornings – such as when he crossed the ice-clogged Delaware River in 1776. However, the first president might have needed only his three-cornered hat for this afternoon.

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“It’s a cold start, but we’ll have a mild finish,” said Jennifer Schack, 6News meteorologist. “Lawrence’s temperature will jump into the mid 50s.”

At 12:15 p.m., the temperature at Lawrence Municipal Airport was 45 degrees, the humidity was 40 percent and winds were from the west at 8 mph, making the windchill 41 degrees.

The morning’s low temperature was 16 degrees. The average low temperature for this date is 28 degrees. The record low was 4 degrees, set in 1978.

Today’s high will climb to 56 degrees, with a few clouds this morning, changing over to mostly sunny skies this afternoon, she said. Winds will be from the west at 5 to 12 mph.

The average high temperature for this date is 48 degrees. The record high was 73 degrees, set in 1995.

Overnight, the temperature will dip back down to 23 degrees by early Thursday morning, she said.

Thursday’s high will climb to 55 degrees, with mostly sunny skies, she said. Winds will be from the northwest at 5 to 12 mph, she said.

Friday’s morning low will start at 26 degrees and climb to a high of 60 degrees by Friday afternoon, with a few clouds late in the day.