As the sun set over the Mississippi River Wednesday, the University of Minnesota women's rowing team dodged ice chunks as they took advantage of the warm weather on the earliest river row in team memory.

Clad in shorts and T-shirts, rowers took out some of their oldest spare boats that are rarely used while most of their boats are parked in California, said head coach Alicea Strodel.

High temperature records were obliterated across the Twin Cities and much of southern Minnesota on Wednesday, as warm air that moved into the state pushed the temperature to within melting distance of the warmest day ever seen in January.

It was uncharted territory for a team that usually practices indoors between winter and spring break, said captain Madeline Lange, a senior at the U.

"It's really crazy but it's such a good opportunity. … It's always better to be outside than indoors," Lange said.

On land, coaches cooked up crepes for the team coming off the water while some rowers who weren't able to make it on the river used machines rowing outside.

Being on the water so early in the season is a major benefit for team practices, said captain Isa Bejaran.

"It was amazing," Bejaran said. "In the last five years I've been here I think the earliest we've ever touched the water is maybe like the last day of March. … I've never seen the river not be frozen solid."

As she directed the team down the Mississippi from a smaller, motorized boat coach Strodel said she felt for pond hockey players, skaters and other winter sports lovers even as they took advantage of the strangely perfect January day.