Welcome to the least snowy winter, to date, since snow records were first kept in the Twin Cities back in 1885. Just 7.3 inches and holding. Even less than we had picked up by Feb. 13, 1931 (8.8). Last year at this time MSP had already seen a whopping 55.6 inches. Are we even living in the same town?
I keep waiting for the pattern to revert to something approximating "normal," but a (weakening) Super El Niño is overpowering all other signals, consistently bathing most of North America in unusually mild, Pacific air.
Minnesota will experience a minor "cold correction" with 20s for highs later this week, maybe a couple of degrees below average for mid-February. The sheer persistence of a mild bias is impressive.
Clouds increase today, and a clipper may drop a coating of slush Wednesday night. By Friday you'll need a coat. But models suggest a rerun of 30s next week, even a few days in the 40s. Welcome to Kansas.
When in doubt go with the flow. Odds favor milder and drier into March. Um, winter … hello?
