Warm-Up Unlikely To Melt Much Snow
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Justin Parent has crafted quite the technique for clearing snow off cars. At 169 Motors in Shakopee, he scrapes off 40-50 a day.
"Getting a nice workout," Parent said. "I'm getting tired of the snow, aren't you?"
The people we came across Monday would probably say "yes". About six inches fell in the Shakopee area. A warm-up is on the way, but Mike Griesinger with the National Weather Service says we shouldn't get too excited.
"The snow pack right now in the Twin Cities is basically 12-18 inches," Griesinger said. "Everywhere in the Twin Cities is pretty common, and a couple of days with highs in 40s and lows still in 20s won't do much to all of that snow."
Griesinger says the snowpack first has to warm before it can melt. He expects a two- to four-inch shrink at most.
"The meat of the snow, the water in that snow, will probably remain pretty much unchanged, so it'll just go from 18-14 on the depth," he said.
To really melt snow, according to Griesinger, you need a higher dew point, wind and rain.
"We're seeing sunny skies, temperatures near 40 and the dew point's in 20s with lighter wind, so it's not exactly ideal melting weather in the couple few days," he said.
Not a perfect weather scenario, but even when snow covers their paths, Minnesotans won't hide their optimism.
Griesinger says when the melt happens and snow starts to turn to water, it weighs itself down just like if you pour water on it. And it actually makes it harder to shovel or move because it will be denser.
So the sooner you get those tasks done, the better.