Minnesotans Enjoy Record-Breaking Warm Weekend

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Minnesota continues to experience one of the weirdest winters on record.

At a time when there is normally talk of state tournament snowstorms, rain is falling. Minnesotans enjoyed record-breaking warm days both Saturday and Sunday.

On Sunday, the thermometer showed 66 degrees in the metro, matching the high hit on Saturday. The warmth, combined with the extra daylight provided by daylight savings on Sunday, got Minnesotans outdoors.

For the Southwest High School ultimate Frisbee team, it's the earliest they've ever been able to practice outside.

"Last year, we started at the end of March and there were two feet of snow on the ground," said Chris Van Holmes, the team's coach.

Golfers also wasted no time dusting off their clubs. Mississippi Dunes in Cottage Grove, Minn., opened its course to 144 players, and another 144 are pre-paid for Monday.

Activities typically done indoors moved outside due to the T-shirt-and-shorts-friendly weather. A friendly game of chess could be seen and spectated on the corner of Lyndale and Lowry avenues in Minneapolis.

"If we're getting an early spring, might as well enjoy it," said Frederick Williams, a chess player.

Nothing says spring more than this scene: a group of dads getting neighborhood kids together for a game of baseball. That happened Sunday, but the field was not quite firm enough to support a game. Players, however, made the best of it by wearing snow boots.

Area bars and restaurants, like Brit's Pub on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, also wiped off tables and moved people out to their patios to enjoy the gentle weather of the usually mild season.