We’re going to have an early spring. That’s according to some groundhog you may have heard of, but is he going to be right? If this week in Minnesota is any indication, Punxsutawney Phil is late to the party.
“I mean look, he’s been making his predictions since 1887,” says WCCO Chief Meteorologist Paul Douglas . “84% of the time he has predicted six more weeks of winter. This time around, he’s predicting an early spring. He may have some guidance, access to weather models that we don’t have, but I don’t know.”
Douglas says despite what Punxsutawney Phil is saying, we still have a ways to go before winter actually ends in Minnesota, as most of us know all too well. In the meantime, there’s more well above normal temps in the forecast.
Mildest Winter of All-Time in Minnesota?
Right now, that answer is unequivocally “yes” but there’s time to make up some ground.
“The first two thirds of meteorological winter behind us, now we’re well past the midpoint of winter,” says Douglas. “The coldest weather usually comes December, January, February. For the first two months, December and January, we’re running about 10 degrees above average in the Twin Cities and much of the state. 7.3 inches of snow.”