A top 10 warmest winter, with 60 degrees likely not far off
ST. PAUL. Minn. — At Lake Como in St. Paul, there's plenty of grass and not so much snow.
One look at the ice, and you may think twice before venturing out on foot.
It was so warm, Nykea Heimer was walking around the lake with just a hoodie.
"I'm hot honestly. I could take this off and be fine," Heimer said.
Meanwhile, in downtown St. Paul, it's the same story.
You could say the folks at the St. Paul Winter Carnival aren't having a meltdown about it all, either. The warm weather means business as normal. Nothing is getting canceled, organizers said Thursday.
"I love it even more when it's wacky and warm," said Lisa Jacobson with the Winter Carnival. "After surviving last year when it was a polar vortex, we'll take it. We're excited we're making it work."
This year already ranks as one of the top 10 warmest winters on record, and if the season ended Thursday, we would rank as the least snowiest winter ever recorded in the Twin Cities.
But will all this warm weather last? That's a question for WCCO's Director of Meteorology Mike Augustyniak.
"The forecast for February, April, May is for above average chances for warmer than average temperatures, so essentially more of what we've been experiencing," Augustyniak said.
While another cold stretch is possible, February looks mild, too.
"We're probably looking at daytime highs that are more in the 30s and 40s given what this pattern is signaling," said Augustyniak, in regard to next month.
Our first 60 degree reading could be just a month away.
"I'm not willing to put money on this, but if we're just at a bar having this conversation, I would say that it's more likely that we see that first 60 in late February or early March, as opposed to mid to late March, when is when we traditionally see it," Augustyniak said.
