Say goodbye to subzero temps...(hopefully)
26 sub zero days for the season. (FOX 9)
(FOX 9) - After 2 solid months with temperatures containing a minus sign at times, it's finally coming to an end.
Thursday marked the 26th day so far this season where temperatures dipped below zero in the Twin Cities. That is the most appearances in a season in the last several years, but well shy of the 50 we experienced in the "polar vortex" winter of 2013-2014.
Meanwhile, parts of northern Minnesota have experienced record lows over the last couple of mornings as temps dip well into the -30s. After originally reporting a low of -39 in International Falls Thursday, the climate report that accounts for instantaneous rounding errors concluded that the city in fact hit -40°. This is the latest in the season the Ice Box of the Nation has ever hit that mark... dating back to the 1890s.
Thankfully the subzero temps are likely over in the Twin Cities, barring anything extreme in the couple weeks ahead. But with DEEP snow cover in northern Minnesota, the northern half of the state will hang onto subzero opportunities for at least another 10 days. Here is a look at the snow cover across the state on February 24.
Deep snow cover in northern Minnesota will keep temperatures cold. (FOX 9)
The average last day for a subzero temperature in the metro is February 19th. That's because it becomes increasingly more difficult for temperatures to get below zero as we begin March. Higher sun angle, longer daylight, and a general dwindling snowpack make it harder to get that cold as we get into and through that first week of March. In fact, we haven't made it past the first week of March with a subzero temp since 2008.
While the subzero temperatures may very well be done, winter-like weather won't magically disappear. Snow season in Minnesota lasts into and sometimes through the month of April. In fact, the Twin Cities averages roughly a foot of snow when you combine March and April.