Weather

Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport hit 50 degrees Sunday for the first time in 127 days.

There may still be more than a foot of snow on the ground in many spots around Minnesota, but the season is already changing in the south and part of the East Coast.  After one of the warmest winters on record from the Gulf Coast to the Mid Atlantic, leaves are already popping on plants and some trees. This sounds like it would be glorious, but could end in disaster for much of the vegetation in these areas if temps turn colder in the upcoming weeks.

We have now surpassed the heart of winter and are coming out the other side. The issue will now transition from the bitter Arctic cold, to the melting of every single snowflake that has fallen this winter. The North Central River Forecast Center has issued their spring flood outlook for Minnesota and the surrounding states, and it’s not good news. Deep dense snowpack can be found in many areas of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the eastern Dakotas and that sets the stage for drastically rising river levels when it finally starts to melt and then runs into area waterways.

As the end of the ice fishing season approaches, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is reminding anglers of the upcoming deadlines for the removing their fish houses from the state’s lakes. 

Coming off the heels of another Minnesota winter, it’s tough to even think about how our cold just isn’t what it used to be. But it’s true. Temperatures just don’t dip as far below zero as they used to, which I’m sure many of us are okay with.

The term “polar vortex” became an everyday term amongst the masses back in the winter of 2013-2014 when much of the United States was locked in a grip of a cold outbreak we hadn’t seen in decades. Suddenly, this term was associated with anything and everything cold in the Lower 48, especially in the winter.

While the department realizes it cannot enforce everywhere, it will be keeping a close eye on those who neglect their duty to clean up after themselves when they remove their fish houses this spring.

The urban heat island--the warming effect man-made objects have on the environment around them--is magnified on calm, clear nights and mornings like Thursday.