In Dallas, where temperatures dropped as low as 10 degrees last week, highs were forecast to reach the 60s on Wednesday. In New York City, where the low dropped to 17 on Wednesday, unseasonably high temperatures in the 50s were expected by Thursday. And in St. Louis, which was covered in ice on Monday, a high of 50 was expected on Wednesday.

Forget climate change. That’s climate whiplash.

It may be disorienting, but for many it is not unwelcome. Sitting in a frigid Bryant Park in New York City on Monday, Adia Rafio, 26, of Queens said she was considering making outdoor plans later this week.

“I’m definitely going to take advantage,” she said as workers shoveled snow and ice nearby. “Winter is really wintering right now.”

After a mass of Arctic air gripped much of the country last week, a large swath of the United States was expecting significantly warmer weather in the next few days, according to forecasters.

Some cities could see temperature swings of more than 50 degrees. In Little Rock, Ark., which dropped to 1 degree on Wednesday, temperatures were expected to rise into to the 50s by Tuesday and into the 60s by Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Cities in the Northeast, including New York and Washington, were expected to have highs about 10 to 15 degrees above normal, according to the Weather Service.

With that warmer weather, many outdoor spaces were preparing for more visitors, who might be tired of huddling indoors to stay out of the cold. Jim Breheny, director of the Bronx Zoo, said that more visitors were expected later this week when temperatures rise.