'Way Over Our Heads' podcast: A warm first half of winter doesn't bode well long-term for snow
What on earth has happened to our 2018-19 winter in the Twin Cities?!
Well, Jim du Bois and Kenny Blumenfeld, the guys from the weekly "Way Over Our Heads" podcast, have the answer.
"When you have a warm first half of winter, it doesn't bode well for winter lovers," says Blumenfeld, who in his day job is a senior climatologist in Minnesota.
Blumenfeld explains how this year's first half of the meteorological winter (Dec. 1-Jan. 15) will likely be among the 10 warmest on record in the Twin Cities, and history suggests winters like this are unlikely to shape up and start producing a lot of snow.
Of the 10 warmest Dec. 1-Jan. 15 periods on record in the Twin Cities, the final snowfall total measured at MSP Airport averaged 34.9 inches, with a minimum of 17.4 inches and a maximum of 66.6 inches.
Bad news, snow lovers: Blumenfeld is almost certain this year will fall into the top 10 for warmest Dec. 1-Jan. 15 periods in Twin Cities history.
For hope that the weather pattern will change and snow will start slamming the metro, look no further than 2001-02, one of the warmest Dec. 1-Jan. 15 periods on record. That year still produced 66.6 inches of snow, although most of it came in March and April.
