Minnesota may see Christmas rain and warmest December on record
Record high temp possible for Twin Cities on Christmas Eve
You’re living through what looks like it may end up as the warmest December for Minnesota in more than 150 years of records. The Accumulated Winter Season Severity Index for the Twin Cities is running among the mildest winters on record so far.
It’s brisk out there on Monday, but temperatures so far this December in the Twin Cities are running 9.3 degrees warmer than normal through Dec. 17.
The average temperature at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport so far this month is 33.5 degrees. The warmest December on record was 33.8 degrees in 1877.
The anomalous warmth is even more pronounced farther north. Duluth is running about 10 degrees warmer than normal so far this December, and it’s an astounding 12.3 degrees warmer than normal in International Falls this month.
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On the map below, check out the temperature departure from normal over the past seven days across Minnesota. You can see that most of Minnesota is running 10 degrees warmer than normal. Temperatures are as much as 15 degrees warmer than normal across the north.
Record warmth by Christmas Eve?
Yet another December warm front blows through Minnesota this week.
High temperatures will climb back into the 40s once again for the latter half of the week into the Christmas holiday weekend.
By Saturday and Christmas Eve, temperatures are likely to return to the 50s again in parts of southern Minnesota.
The record high for the Twin Cities on Dec. 24 is 46 degrees set in 1957.
So it’s likely that we’ll be setting new record highs around Minnesota this Christmas Eve.
Christmas rain?
The atmosphere looks warm enough for mostly rain across Minnesota by Christmas Day. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model suggests widespread rainfall on Dec. 25.
At this early forecast point, it appears there could be some snow in the Dakotas and far northern Minnesota.
Stay tuned.