Spring Fever: balmy 60s in southwest Minnesota
Welcome to...Apr-uary?
Temperatures soared as expected Friday afternoon across Minnesota. The combination of a mild Pacific air mass, increasingly strong sunshine and snow-free ground provides the perfect recipe for near record February temperatures.
The thermometer at Marshall in southwest Minnesota pushed the 60-degree mark Friday afternoon.
Mild pattern continues
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Temps run above average, pushing 40 in the metro again this weekend into Monday. We cool off slightly next week, but the air mass by the weekend of Feb 18-19 looks even warmer. These numbers below are probably conservative.
Twin Cities: 50s next weekend?
The unfolding upper air pattern looks highly abnormal for mid February. A warm ridge of high pressure builds over the Upper Midwest next weekend. There is literally no sign of winter across the United States by late next week.
The European and Canadian models are cranking out near-record temps in the 50s next weekend for the Twin Cities. The record high at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is 57 degrees next Sunday.
Looking even further ahead, the upper air maps still show no sign of any Arctic outbreak. Unseasonable warmth is likely to persist into the last week of February.
March: Trending closer to average?
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Forecast System tracks large-scale patterns going further out in time. The CFS had been favoring a milder than average March for the Upper Midwest. But recent runs this week have trended closer to average on March temperatures.
March, as we know has the potential to deliver heavy snows to Minnesota. Will the trend toward a potentially colder and snowier March continue?
Stay tuned.