Happy meteorological spring: 40s return, 60 by Sunday?

Happy meteorological spring Minnesota.

The season known as meteorological spring began Sunday. Meteorological seasons run a little differently astronomical seasons. Why? Here’s the breakdown from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:

Meteorologists and climatologists break the seasons down into groupings of three months based on the annual temperature cycle as well as our calendar.

We generally think of winter as the coldest time of the year and summer as the warmest time of the year, with spring and fall being the transition seasons, and that is what the meteorological seasons are based on.

Meteorological spring includes March, April, and May; meteorological summer includes June, July, and August; meteorological fall includes September, October, and November; and meteorological winter includes December, January, and February.

Meteorological observing and forecasting led to the creation of these seasons, and they are more closely tied to our monthly civil calendar than the astronomical seasons are.

The length of the meteorological seasons is also more consistent, ranging from 90 days for winter of a non-leap year to 92 days for spring and summer.

By following the civil calendar and having less variation in season length and season start, it becomes much easier to calculate seasonal statistics from the monthly statistics, both of which are very useful for agriculture, commerce, and a variety of other purposes.

Meteorological winter: Mild but snowy

Overall, the three months that make up meteorological winter (Dec.-Feb.) ran milder than average across the Upper Midwest. But snowfall was abundant in most areas. It’s a great illustration that even as Minnesota winters get warmer overall, it’s still plenty cold enough here for snow.

The Twin Cities ran about 2.9 degrees warmer than average overall this winter. So far, 42.9 inches of snow has fallen at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. That’s within an inch of average. Duluth has picked up 79.4 inches of snow this season. That’s 13 inches above average.

40s return; 60 by Sunday?

I continue to be amazed at the strength and persistence of the mild zonal Pacific flow pattern lately.

Highs in the 40s return this week. An even milder push of Pacific air arrives again next weekend. Many forecast models are cranking out highs in the 50s to near 60 degrees by Sunday afternoon.

So far I don’t see any return to winter-like conditions across Minnesota. It’s still climatologically likely we’ll see more snow this season. But with each passing mild week the odds of an early spring that might stick keep growing.

Stay tuned.