MPR’s Bob Kelleher reports from Duluth, where the temperature soared close to 50 degrees on December 14th. This fell just short of a 100-year old record. Few seemed to mind the sunshine and distinct lack of ice or snow.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, St. Cloud, International Falls, and the Twin Cities all set new daytime highs by early afternoon on December 14, 1998.
BOB KELLEHER: The coats were coming off, and the bicycles were out across the region Monday. A century-old record highs tumbled. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, St. Cloud, and the Twin Cities, all set new daytime highs by early afternoon. Even International Falls had a record high for the day just after noon.
In Duluth, it may have been the last day in a series of much too warm weather, in this city that normally celebrates winter, and the season's inevitable heavy snowfall. A strong wind off Lake Superior put a little chill into an otherwise beautiful day. Recently, December sartorial norm has been shirt sleeves, not parkas. The roar of motorcycles hasn't yet been replaced by the whine of snowmobiles. And cross-country skiers are more likely to be pedaling bicycles.
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On Duluth's Lake Superior lakewalk, a trio of joggers trundle by, warmed by the bright sun reflecting off the blue and very unfrozen Lake Superior. A middle-aged man in green Spandex skates among the midday strollers. It's not an understatement to describe stroller Debbie Brough as out and out thrilled.
DEBBIE BROUGH: It's just too amazing for words.
BOB KELLEHER: Do you even-- do you miss winter?
DEBBIE BROUGH: Winter? Let me think. What was that? That's the ice and the snow? Not at all. I'll [? order, ?] let's see, two more months of this would be good.
BOB KELLEHER: Nice weather takes husband Joe Brough back to his native Europe.
JOE BROUGH: Oh, I love this. It reminds me of home. Home is Germany and Switzerland. [? We're ?] a temperate climate. We get lucky, we get a little snow on Christmas.
BOB KELLEHER: Many just don't appreciate mild and snowless winter weather. Loggers can't get choice trees out of the forest until swamps and lakes freeze. The lack of snow takes away recreation time from those who ski, snowmobile, snowshoe, or dog sled. It hurts winter tourism businesses like resorts and ski hills, but it doesn't bother Joe Brough.
JOE BROUGH: No, not at all. Not at all. I'm not a super great fan of winter. I love snow, but six months is kind of long. This is just god's end, heavenly.
BOB KELLEHER: Mother Nature has been unable to settle on any one season. During a cold November, lakes began to freeze over. And several inches of snow fell. But warm weather late last month melted all the ice and snow and coaxed more foolish plants into buds and blooms. A return to frigid weather rebuilt a thin layer of ice on northern lakes, much of which disappeared under the near-record temperatures of the past few days.
GREG FROSTIG: The record is 54, set in 1894.
BOB KELLEHER: Ironically, National Weather Service meteorologist Greg Frostig in Duluth says it's an advancing cold front that was pushing warm air into the region on Monday. And that cold front promises to rapidly return to the region a normal December with daytime highs here that just crawl into the 20s.
GREG FROSTING: Temperatures should be back around normal by the weekend. And that means highs around 20 and lows in the single digits above 0.
BOB KELLEHER: But he says there's a good chance of an occasional warmer than normal day in the next few weeks. With sunshine, daytime highs could reach the upper 20s, about 25 degrees colder than Duluth on Monday. In Duluth, I'm Bob Kelleher, Minnesota Public Radio.
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