Twin Cities breaks record for latest first freeze
MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - For just the 8th time in city history, Minneapolis made it all the way into November without officially hitting the freeze mark. While many metro locations have hit freezing already (some of the outlying suburbs have done it multiple times), the official climate spot of MSP Airport has only made it down to 36.
With more above average warmth in the forecast, 207 day above freezing record will continue for a while. This will be the first year since records began in 1872 that we have passed November 7th for our first fall freeze. That’s quite the feat!
WEEKEND WARMTH - Record highs smashed over the weekend (CHART)
What’s weird though, and possibly up for later debate amongst climate scientists is that the MSP Airport site appears to be the last hold out when it comes to experiencing freezing temperatures so far this fall. I’m not talking conspiracy by any stretch of the imagination, but the urban heat island affect is a scientifically proven entity that every major metropolitan areas have to deal with… but would it affect temperature THAT much?? Just something to ponder…
Regardless of the reasons, the MSP climate site does appear to be the only spot in the state left to freeze. One of the maps above indicates what official climate sites have frozen or not depending on the color of the dot placed. Small black dots indicate an unfrozen site, while the corresponding colored dots indicate when the climate site saw a temperature at or below 32 degrees. MSP airport isn’t exactly alone though when it comes to larger cities hitting the freeze mark. Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago have all not hit the freeze mark. BUT cities to our south have like Des Moines, Detroit and Omaha -- all cities with typically much later freeze dates than us.
The average date that the metro dabbles with the first 32-degree temperatures is October 8, which means that our first fall freeze will be well over a month late. Wow!
So does this mean that it’s going to be a mild and snow free winter? Check out my other blog "Does a late first freeze mean a mild winter" for the answer to that question.