Toronto broke an 86-year-old weather record on Friday as temperatures rose above 13 degrees Celsius during an unusually warm February.

Unofficial data from Environment Canada showed that the temperature at Toronto Pearson International Airport reached 11.4 degrees Celsius at 10 a.m., breaking the previous record of 10.6 degrees set in 1938.

The temperature reached 13.4 degrees Celsius at noon, peaking at 14 degrees Celsius by 4 p.m., before gradually dropping to 10 degrees Celsius later in the evening, according to the federal weather agency.

Speaking to CP24 on Friday morning, Dave Phillips, senior climate scientist at Environment Canada, described the weather as "somewhat unusual."

Phillips said: "It's almost like full spring. I mean, these are the temperatures you usually see at the end of April, not days before Valentine’s Day."

Phillips added that Toronto’s weather records, which have been kept since 1841 and measure temperature in the city rather than the airport, show the warmest temperature ever recorded on February 9 was 10 degrees Celsius. So, Friday’s temperature effectively breaks a 183-year-old record as well.

Saturday is expected to be mostly cloudy with a chance of rain in the morning and midday, and a high of 10 degrees Celsius. Temperatures will drop to 3 degrees Celsius on Sunday before the chance of isolated rain showers early next week.

Phillips continued, "The warmth on Friday could just be a 'teaser.'"

He said that for those looking forward to early spring, Friday’s forecast is very welcome — although it likely won’t last.

Phillips explained: "Our forecasts indicate that we will see more suitable temperatures over the next month. So maybe temperatures will drop below freezing even during the day and more snow."

Phillips said Toronto averages 40 cm of snow, or one-third of its total snowfall in the winter season, after February 9.

So far, winter in Toronto has been relatively mild, with the largest snowfall in the city this season being only 5.6 cm.

Phillips added: "My feeling is that this is kind of a little teaser, 'It's not the full [winter] effect, but it definitely adds to the kind of openness and softness of the winter we have seen so far.'"