A balmy day, perhaps, but no record set in Boston

By Lauren Dezenski, Globe Correspondent

Temperatures flirted with record highs in Boston this afternoon, with the National Weather Service reporting a high of 61 degrees at Logan International Airport just after 2 p.m.

That reading was close to the record high of 64 set in 1907. But shortly before 3 p.m. the mercury dipped to 59. And with an hour and a half of daylight left, weather service meteorologist Charlie Foley said, it wasn’t likely temperatures would climb any higher.

The toasty temps are still above December’s average by more than 15 degrees, Foley said.

Showers will continue intermittently throughout the rest of the day and evening, Foley said, with the bulk of the rain south of Boston toward Southeastern Massachusetts.

The rain will not affect the evening’s commute, though pockets of moderate, scattered showers will be on hand during the New England Patriots’ game against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium tonight, he said.

“We’ve been dry, so the rain is a beneficial thing,” Foley said.

Dry weather and cooler temperatures will enter the region Tuesday, he said.

Bay Staters will wake up to clouds Tuesday morning, but the skies will clear and become sunny by the afternoon.

“As the warm front moves through the north [this evening], it will be replaced by high pressure and drier weather for tomorrow and much of the rest of the week,” Foley said.

Highs will still be above normal Tuesday, in the upper 40s, Foley said, then drop slightly below average into the low 40s on Wednesday.

The rest of the week will be sunny with temperatures in the 40s, according to the weather service.