For residents of Northern Virginia, what a difference five days make. Temperatures were so frigid on January 24th that the campus of George Mason University offered a makeshift skating rink.

In less than a week, accumulated snow has been replaced with clear skies and mild temperatures.

An uncharacteristically warm end to 2013’s first month has many Northern Virginia residents pleasantly surprised and itching to spend some time outside.

Giuliana Reynolds, sophomore at George Mason University in Fairfax, said the warm up put her in a better mood, “I feel free and alive when the weather turns warm, like I’m born again,” Reynolds said.

Many other students on campus were spending much more time outside as well.  Students were seen eating meals, socializing, and even throwing a Frisbee around.  Reynolds seemed to convey the thoughts of many proclaiming, “I vastly prefer the warmer weather over the cold,” she said.