ST. LOUIS – After weeks of extreme temperatures and ice covered streets, St. Louis finally saw a warmup on Sunday.

After days of bitter cold and back-to-back snowstorms, St. Louis is finally thawing out, and residents wasted no time soaking in the sunshine. From Forest Park to Soulard, people ditched their winter coats and embraced the warmth.

The weekend brought a much-needed break from the ice and snow, with clear skies and temperatures peaking at 59 degrees on Sunday. In Soulard, crowds gathered for the Purina Pet Parade, enjoying the sunshine after weeks of being stuck inside.

“Yes, this is nice! Sunny day but we didn’t get any sunburn! Warmer than yesterday. It’s only going to be warmer going ahead so maybe spring is in the air” Laurence Jost said.

Even event organizers could not help but notice the energy that came with the change in weather.

“The weather today was great. I think it’s probably going to be a little better next Saturday so we’re looking forward to it. We had a big crowd today and I expect the same thing next Saturday,” Mack Bradley, president of the St. Louis Mardi Gras Foundation, said.

After weeks of winter storms and freezing temperatures, people were just happy to be outside again.

“I think people were really ready to get outside and do something! And a whole lot of Saint Louis came out to do that today,” Bradley said.

Over in Forest Park, runners, bikers and families filled the trails, thrilled to trade in snow boots for sneakers.

“I was out here yesterday there was snow everywhere. Just a few people some die hard runners. Some amazing people wearing shorts and t-shirts and I’m all bundled up with gloves and a hat but today is great! Everybody out here enjoying the park,” Keith Petrofsky said.

Others, made the most of the rare warm day.

” I’m here on this nice day cause we haven’t been having good days like this so I took advantage of this weekend because I’m a working man. You know I work out. I run the steps. Walk the trails. I just like the scenery,” Bryant Willingham said.

The warmer weather is here to stay, with highs in the 50s and 60s all week. Several people told me that they are hopeful that spring is finally on the way.