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After Record-Breaking Warmth, Minnesotans Brace For Big Snow Storm

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The winter warm-up has surely been enjoyable for people, but some are feeling the exact same way about the incoming storm.

Smiles, sunshine and suds have been a mainstay recently on the rooftop at Brit's Pub in downtown Minneapolis.

"[The temperatures are] Fabulous, unheard of," said general manager Shane Higgins.

A tarp still covers the lawn bowling area, and will remain there for several more weeks, but that has not stopped people from enjoying the rooftop patio, especially last weekend.

Higgins says a combination of the weather and downtown events doubled his business.

"It was 60 degrees, sunshine. Every table when the sun was over here was full," he said.

Customer Lauren Kunkel stopped by with several coworkers hoping to do some lawn bowling, but gladly settled for sipping a beer outside. She and others are not looking forward to the impending winter storm.

"It's like we're going backwards," Kunkel said. "We should be getting towards spring. Hopefully [the snow] will go away fast, it will melt fast."

Not everyone agrees with her, especially at Theodore Wirth Park.

"There's a time and a place for 60 [degrees] and we all love it, but you know, it's generally not in February," said John Munger, executive director of the Loppet Foundation, which runs the winter activities at the park.

The recent warm weather has kept cross-country skiers away. The tubing hill had to be closed. But with snowfall on the horizon, Munger is hoping the Winter Village at the park will be packed this weekend.

"You can still be snow shoeing," he said. "In fact, a foot of snow is awesome for that. Tubing, if we do get [the hill] reopened will be great because, you know, it's not Jan. 10, where it might be a high of zero. It's, you know, 30, 35, 40 degrees out."

Munger says cross-country skiing and fat tire biking will go on regardless of the final snow totals.

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