Winter report card: Snow, temperature extremes add up to average
First half of February looks to be milder than average
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They say averages are sometimes made up of extremes. That’s true so far this winter in Minnesota.
We’re now two-thirds of the way through meteorological winter (Dec-Feb) in Minnesota. The character of temperatures in December and January couldn’t be more different. But oddly enough when you combine the two months, they add up to average.
Check out the monthly temperatures for the first two months of meteorological winter.
December: 4 degrees below average (18 degrees)
January: 4 degrees above average (20.2 degrees)
So our winter temperatures so far this season are running very close to average in the Twin Cities, even though December delivered extreme cold and January brought persistent warmth.
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And this is the first January in 16 years that has been warmer than the previous December. The last time that happened was in 2006-07. The two months tied in 2016-17.
January was even warmer compared to the average in northeastern Minnesota. Duluth was 6.5 degrees warmer than average. International Falls, on the Canadian border, was an astounding 8 degrees warmer than average!
Abundant snowfall
The snow spigot has turned off in Minnesota recently. But our barrage of seven storms in nine weeks has already produced a winter’s worth of snow in parts of central Minnesota, including the greater Twin Cities.
The Twin Cities averages around 52 inches of snow each year.
Here’s a look at some select snowfall totals so far this season around parts of Minnesota.
Fargo-Moorhead, 30.8 inches
Rochester, 36.3 inches
Twin Cities, 55.5 inches (2 feet above average to date)
Duluth, 80.1 inches
Finland (Wolf Ridge, Arrowhead region) 91.4 inches
So this winter has dumped abundant snow for much of central Minnesota, with less snowfall in the west and southeastern parts of the state. And extremely different temperatures in December and January have added up to the average so far.
Now we see what February brings. So far, it looks milder-than-average through the first half of the month overall.
Stay tuned.
