Northland’s Cold Spell Breaks As Warmer Days Approach

We are in one of our longest cold snaps that I recall in recent history. It's been below zero every day for a couple of weeks now, but it looks like we might have some relief in sight.

The National Weather Service in Duluth says a warming trend with slightly above-average temperatures is coming in early February. We'll see average temperatures by this weekend for the Northland, and then temperatures climbing up into the 20s next week after the weirdest holiday ever.

I'm talking about Groundhog Day, of course! Imagine trying to explain what Groundhog Day is to an alien who just visited Earth. We wait for this groundhog to come out in the morning, and if he sees his shadow, that means 6 more weeks of winter. It announces the arrival of spring, which can't come soon enough for some of us.

Read More: Why You Shouldn't Leave Your Wipers Up During Winter Storm

By February 4th, temperatures could approach 30, which will feel roughly 90 degrees warmer than our coldest windchill days of -60F. Isn't that crazy?

With the warmer air moving in, so does a clipper system that will come over the weekend. It should arrive early Sunday morning and bring a chance of about a 1/2 inch of new snow.

So what does our spring look like? Well, both the National Weather Service and Farmer's Almanac are predicting a cooler, wetter spring for us here in the Midwest. But if you live near Lake Superior, it doesn't matter because it's always a cooler spring by the lake. I'm just looking forward to giving my HVAC system a well-deserved break.