Are you enjoying spring? Put the snowshoes away and pick up the golf clubs. Yikes.
Temperatures are expected to jump back into the 50's this week, with our strange winter on track to break even more record highs. In case you're wondering just how unusual these temperatures are, the answer is "very".
"We're really about 20-25 degrees above normal," says National Weather Service Meteorologist Brennan Dettmann.
He says starting mid-week the high temps will be in the 50s with the possilibity of more records falling in the Twin Cities. The record Monday is 51 which is close to where the high should land.
"Normal for this time of year is right around 25 degrees, mid-20 s with normal low temperatures being around 10 degrees," says Dettmann.
WCCO Chief Meteorologist Paul Douglas says records could easily fall on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"Sunshine, the record tomorrow is 51 and we should be easily breaking that, low 50s tomorrow," Douglas predicts. "Low to mid-50s on Wednesday with a little bit of light rain shower activity. Again, it's going to feel like April. The record Wednesday is 53, and that is in danger and I think we'll break the record on Thursday which is 50 degrees in the metro."
SOME PRECIP COMING END OF THE WEEK
On Thursday, a storm system could arrive, bringing rain showers, wind and possibly some very light snow.
"Can't rule out a clap of thunder before it cools off later in the day Thursday, then Friday at the tail end, enough cold air coming in, could be a little coating of wet snow especially north of the metro by Friday night," says Douglas. "I wouldn't be shocked to see some lawns coated with white slush by the time you wake up Saturday morning."
Things will cool down after that system, but temperatures will still be above average.
"With daytime highs consistently above freezing next week, whatever snow we get is not going to be long for this planet," Douglas told Vineeta Sawkar on the WCCO Morning News. "It's certainly not much for Minnesota."
Douglas does say there's a better chance for some light snow in northern Minnesota next week but nowhere near what that part of the state considers normal in a very un-normal winter.
"This week is going to feel like early-April," says Douglas. "It does cool off by Friday and the weekend, so next week will feel more like early March. Nothing seasonable. Nothing normal, still, looking out the next couple of weeks."
Douglas says he doesn't see anything sub-zero the rest of the winter, and despite warning that we can't "write off winter just yet", it is getting closer.
"I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I don't see it. Just a crazy, crazy winter," says Douglas, perhaps stating the obvious.
FORECAST
Monday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 48, low around 28.
Tuesday: Increasing clouds, with a high near 52 with light winds. Very balmy overnight with a low around 38.
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 52. Windier at 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Some rain likely, mainly after midnight and extremely warm with a low around 44.
Thursday: More rain with a high near 53 and continued breezy with gusts up to 30 mph. More rain Thursday night with with a low around 37.
Friday: A chance of rain before 9:00 a.m. then perhaps changing over to some light snow. High near 39. with a low of 30.