Measuring our wimpy winter so far
Despite some recent cold, it remains a record mild winter
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We’ve had a taste of really cold weather the past week but even that cold has been warmer than normal midwinter cold snaps. Snowfall has also been far behind normal values this season.
Record mild winter so far, despite recent cold
We've had some legit cold weather, but I wrote earlier this week on how that cold weather is warmer than even modern averages for midwinter cold snaps.
Even with the recent cold weather, January average temperatures are still above normal for most of Minnesota thanks to the very mild first 10 days.
When we look at meteorological winter to date (since Dec. 1), we’re still record warm thanks to the off-the-charts warmth of December.
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With the last 10 or so days of January looking to be well above normal once again, the month is certain to end up warmer than normal statewide.
February outlooks look mild too, so it’s easy to imagine this winter going down as the warmest on record for the Twin Cities and likely statewide.
Snow and snow depth remain low
Not only has winter been mild, it’s been pretty light on snowfall as well. Most of Minnesota has seen only about half of normal snowfall to date.
In the Twin Cities, we’re a foot and a half behind on snowfall. Duluth is a whopping 29.1 inches behind as of Jan. 19. Only far southeastern and southwestern Minnesota have seen near normal snowfall as they typically see less than the rest of the state.
January did bring snow to some, but not in the Twin Cities. We stick out as a bull’s-eye of low snowfall since Jan. 1.
The mild temperatures and lack of snowfall have led to very low snow cover. Most of the Twin Cities area has a mere trace to one-half inch of snow cover.
While the North Shore has received some recent snowfall finally, it’s still behind normal as it translates to snow depth. Many areas of north-central Minnesota are seeing snow depths 8 to 16 inches below normal for this point in the season.
All of this is is pretty incredible considering many areas saw their snowiest winter seasons just last year.