Record-high warm weather brings early spring scenes to Minnesota
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It was a classic spring day at the University of Minnesota’s landscape arboretum: melting snow, crowds of people and sap flowing through the tubes on just-tapped maple trees.
Except, it’s mid-February.
Temperatures hit record highs this weekend, reaching the low 50s in the Twin Cities area Friday and Saturday. The previous record for the Twin Cities was 50 degrees, set in 1882.
At the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, staff took advantage of the weather to start tapping maple trees Friday — earlier than usual. But the temperatures are ideal for tapping, with highs above freezing during the day and nighttime lows still dipping below.
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Joe Pederson and Matt Pfeifer took a Valentine’s Day walk at the arboretum to enjoy the surprise sunshine.
“It’s a little disturbing that it’s this warm in February,” Pederson said. “But it did get us out today and thinking about, ‘OK, what are we gonna do with our garden this spring?’”
Maple tapping season will continue at the arboretum. The park will celebrate its annual Maple Fest in March, with demonstrations of tapping and syrup-making, plus a pancake breakfast with homemade maple syrup.
But before then, a fresh round of winter is on the horizon; temperatures are predicted to drop later this week.
