Record warm weather, and a serious lack of snow must have some consequences, but one that seems obvious may not be the case. Just because we haven't received much snow this winter does not mean we're heading into a drought according to the experts.
We're still abnormally dry according to the Department of Natural Resources, but National Weather Service Meteorologist Tyler Hasenstein says our ongoing mild weather can actually help when it comes to moisture, and preventing spring flooding.
"A lot of our ground temperatures are actually near or actually above freezing, so if we were to get any rain over the next couple of months a lot of that would end up soaking in," says Hasenstein. "Which is a good thing as far as the drought's concerned, and would help mitigate some of those flooding impacts. Compared to a normal year where the ground is frozen and much of that would be running off."
You read that correctly, at the end of January, the ground is not frozen in Minnesota.
Hasenstein says what's been most jarring is going from a top three year for snowfall last season, to a bottom five year this season.
The mild weather is actually good for what's going on underground too.
"In terms of soil moisture, and kind of drought conditions, we're actually not looking too bad at this point in the season," he says. "What's really going to dictate things is, because we have a lack of snow, any more snow we get through the rest of the season and then kind of relying on any rain we get through the course of the spring."
That said, Hasenstein says a more active weather pattern is headed our way by mid-February.