Creating a new normal

If you don’t mind my editorializing, I found the past two days just delightful. Sunday’s maximum temperature in the Twin Cites was just one degree shy of the record high of 64 degrees. Today the mercury once again climbed well above normal for the date. With plenty of sunshine, temperatures reached the middle 50s in central Minnesota. Normal highs are about 10 to 15 degrees cooler.

Back-to-back days of pleasant November weather allowed for a round of golf on this designated Holiday. My weather colleague and I both marveled at how pleasant it was to walk the course with sunshine, comfortable temperatures, no bugs and only a light breeze. Temperatures the past two days were more representative of the Ohio Valley for this time of year. As the daily weather becomes part of the historical records, we are creating the new normal. Clearly trending warmer! February has been the only month with below normal temperatures for 2007.

From the other side, central Minnesota could use some moisture. There has been no significant precipitation since Oct. 19. Newly planted trees and shrubs could use a watering while the soil remains frost-free.

When the other shoe drops, and the reality of a November cold snap blasts across the Plains, remember this Veterans Day when Mother Nature served up an award winning weather day.

CE