April in January: Warmest winter on record continues
Highs in the 40s and 50s ahead once again
Welcome to April, Minnesota.
Monday’s record high temperature of 50 degrees in the Twin Cities is perfectly normal — for April 1.
The winter of our discontent continues for those of us who love and appreciate winter in Minnesota.
The forecast maps and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration outlook strongly favor temperatures well above normal for the next one to two weeks. More records may fall as soon as this Wednesday.
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First, a weak “cool” front slips through Minnesota Monday night. A few sprinkles or snow flurries are possible overnight into early Tuesday.
Temperatures Tuesday will run about 10 degrees cooler than Monday. But they will still run about 15 degrees warmer than normal for late January.
Then we get ready to rewrite the record books again on Wednesday. Another pulse of unseasonably mild Pacific air will drift across Minnesota. Bright sunshine and bare ground will combine to send temperatures soaring. Highs in the 50s will cover southern Minnesota once again, with 40s north.
The map above could be conservative. My temperature computations for Wednesday come up at or near 54 degrees for Wednesday afternoon in the Twin Cities. That would obliterate the current record of 46 degrees at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport set in 2009 and 1955.
Highs the rest of the week into the upcoming weekend will range through the 40s across most of Minnesota, with 30s in the north.
The average high and low temperatures for Feb. 1 are still frigid at 24 and 9 degrees. We’ll be at least 20 degrees warmer than normal.
Warmest winter on record for much of Minnesota
This continues to be the warmest winter on record for most of Minnesota. As of Monday, the Midwest Regional Climate Center’s Accumulated Winter Season Severity Index is the warmest (lowest) on record for the Twin Cities, Duluth, St. Cloud, International Falls, and Fargo-Moorhead. The index assigns points for snow and cold.
So far, the severity index for the Twin Cities is 261. Last year at this time it was 780.
We’re on pace for the warmest winter on record right now. We may take out the previous warmest on record which is 1887-88. That year was also an El Niño year.
Stay tuned.