Minnesotans Loving Rare Stretch Of Warm Weather
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The temperatures outside have many of us checking the calendar after we broke records across Minnesota on Thursday.
The Twin Cities hit 45 degrees, but it was even warmer out west. Marshall hit 61 degrees, and Canby topped out at 63 degrees.
But there is snow, believe it or not, in the southern part of the Twin Cities.
"It's all right here," said Carl Schubitzke with Snocross at Canterbury Park this weekend. "And we're going to try and keep it as long as we can."
Mother Nature didn't make enough snow for the half-mile course. It's man-made snow.
"We have had an uphill battle," he said. "I really can't think of a race the last couple years where we had to fight this much to pull off an event."
Crews have fought rising January temperatures, but they did get lucky just a couple nights ago. A couple cold nights meant six snow cannons could get to work making the course. They used more than three million gallons of water. This course is one of the only places south of the Twin Cities with significant snow.
Some at Lake Calhoun are fine with just a dusting of snow.
"We're kind of lucky in Minnesota," said runner Maggie Anderson, who's been cooped up inside in December. A 45 degree January day meant she and other outdoor enthusiasts could hit Minneapolis lakes. She lost a few layers of clothes along the way.
"I was getting pretty sweaty and only out here 10 minutes," she said.
She'll take a streak of warm weather anytime, and ironically, so will Schubitzke.
"To be honest with you, the warm weather… hopefully it brings out the crowds. So it worked out good for us," he said.
There should be plenty of snow for snowmobilers this weekend, and plenty of stories in the future about a Minnesota winter that never felt quite like all the rest.
Watch Chris Shaffer's Forecast On Thursday Night
