Spring Thaw Wreaking Havoc On Homes, Lawns

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Just when it seemed like winter would never end, we've gone from shoveling snow to thinking about lawn care. Warm temperatures have led to a rapid snow melt.

But even if you're starting to see grass peak through, all that moisture will make for an interesting spring for our lawns.

"I hope it's the last day, chipping away. Scooping up the last ice chunks," Chris Giacomazzo said outside his Minneapolis home.

February is now in the past and so is most of March. But this could be it for Giacomazzo. And if it is, he'll say good riddance to a winter season that felt like it would never end.

"It wasn't long until February hit. Then it's been long ever since. The longest one month we have seen in a while, I think," Giacomazzo said.

At other homes, spring has already chipped away at winter to the point that grass is sneaking through and lawns are starting to show. While raking and yard work may be out of the question this early, experts say there is something you can do to help your lawn get off to a good start.

"It's too early to be cleaning too much, but it's going to go pretty quick. I've never seen it come this fast, in a week where it went from winter to spring," Joe Young, of Settergren's Hardware, said.

What a difference a week makes. Settergren's went from selling shovels and sump pumps last Friday to grass seed and mulch this weekend.

"If you have a really muddy, nasty spot on the yard, get some mulch down on it. You can always rake that out pretty easy. It will keep it clean for the dog and what not," Young said.

And while Young said raking your lawn now would disturb the grass that's already there, it doesn't mean you can't do something.

"You can always put a little seed down. That's an old timer's trick. If we get a little snowfall, that just drives it in. When your regular stuff come it comes with that and you can end up with a nice, thick lawn doing that," Young said.