A tale of two Februarys; temp peaks on Valentine’s Day
Yes, it's been colder than normal this month.
Although our average high temperature in the Twin Cities metro area is 27 degrees this time of year, the metro area hasn't even seen an official high temp in the 20s this February.
Minnesota temperatures will moderate a bit this coming week, and many spots will have their first trip into warmer than normal territory on Valentine's Day:
We'll probably see our first 30s of the month in the Twin Cities metro area on Wednesday.
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If you're looking for a sign of Spring, Minnesota Twins pitchers and catchers begin workouts in Fort Myers, Florida on Wednesday.
Their equipment has already arrived:
Much warmer last February
February of 2017 was the seventh warmest February in Twin Cities weather records dating back to 1873.
Here's a look at the warmest portion of last February in the Twin Cities:
I've highlighted Feb. 10 through Feb. 22 of last year, when the Twin Cities had six days with highs in the 40s, four days with highs in the 50s, and two days with highs in the 60s!
Nothing that warm is in our 7 day forecast; the Twin Cities metro area could see highs around 20 degrees this Sunday and Monday, followed by middle 20s Tuesday, middle 30s Wednesday and lower 20s on Thursday.
Snow opportunity north on Sunday
Far northern Minnesota could see a few snow showers on Sunday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential snow pattern this weekend:
The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the strength of the signal that returns to the radar, not to the amount of snow.
You'll notice some Saturday snow showers over Chicago, and periods of snow for that same area on Sunday.
The Thursday night/Friday snowstorm brought 8.8 inches of snow to Chicago's Midway airport and 7.8 inches to O'Hare airport:
Parts of the Chicago area could see another 2 to 3 inches of snow on Sunday:
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.