Updraft: March 23, 2010 Archive

Early Spring: Season's 1st 70s on the way?

Posted at 8:22 AM on March 23, 2010 by Paul Huttner

Get ready for an outbreak of spring fever.

The weather maps are looking good next week for a major warm up in the Upper Midwest. The snow is gone, and it looks like persistent warm southerly winds will set up by the middle of next week. This could help boost temperatures into the 70s by next Wednesday or Thursday for much of Minnesota. The last time we hit 70 in the metro was on September 27th when the mercury hit 73 degrees at Twin Cities Airport.

NOAA GFS model surface map for next Wednesday features a warm southerly flow pumping mild (warm?) air into the Upper Midwest.

If the warm up pans out next week, it will continue a pattern that will make it an early spring this year in Minnesota. So far March temperatures are running 8.7 degrees above average in the Twin Cities, 21 of 22 days this month have featured above average temperatures. And it appears we may do something in March we have never done before in 125 years of record keeping in the Twin Cities; experience a snowless March.

April begins a week from Thursday. Though we can see snow and cold in April, it's pretty tough to turn back the clock to winter for long after April 1st.

NOAA CPC 8-14 day outlook favors above average temperatures in the Upper Midwest.

It will be interesting to see how warm we get next week. If everything goes just right and the models stay where they are today, I would not be stunned to see the first 80 degree temperatures of the year somewhere in southern Minnesota next week. The average date for ice out in Lake Minnetonka is April 13th. Something tells me its going to be early this year.

PH