Minnesota Weather: A Look Back At Meteorological Winter

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- As March marks the start of meteorological spring, let's take a look back at meteorological winter in Minnesota.

Meteorological winter runs from December through February. At the start, it was mild, with plenty of snow. December was the ninth-snowiest on record and led to a precipitation surplus. However, it wasn't enough snow to knock out last summer's drought impacts.

While the season started warm, it ended with streaks of bitter cold. It was the coldest winter since 2013-2014.

In northern Minnesota, the winter season brought lots of snow and extreme cold. According to the Minnesota DNR, it's possible that winter conditions could have affected some of the worst-hit drought areas. You can read more about that here.

In October, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that there were "equal chances" during a La Niña winter for it to be (on average) colder and snowier or warmer and drier. Cleary, this winter was the former.

The last similar La Niña winter we had was in 2010-2011.