December warmer than normal despite blankets of snow

Despite the look of a winter wonderland for much of the state, temperatures for December have actually been higher than than previous years. Friday and Saturday are going to be colder than average, but that’s outside the norm of the growing trend.

“Ten of the last 11 days of the month are forecasted to be well above normal. So we're going to finish with another warm December,” said meteorologist and climatologist Mark Seeley.

Although the weather might feel wintry, December temperatures in the state have actually increased by nearly 5 degrees Fahrenheit since 2010. Additionally, Minnesota has only had two previous December months that were below average in temperature since then.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Seeley about the blankets of snow and warm December in their weekly weather chat. Click on the audio player below to hear their conversation.

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