As Southern States Dig Out, Minnesotans Experience Snow Drought
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – As Georgians make snow angels and marvel at frozen fountains, there's a lack of snow across the southern half of Minnesota.
Meteorologist Matt Brickman says many areas of the "Bold North" are experiencing a snow drought.
????Do You Want to Build a Snowman?????
TOO BAD. pic.twitter.com/sKqFvVpQsR
— Matt Brickman (@Matt_Brickman) January 3, 2018
The Twin Cities metro, for instance, has seen only about 7 inches of snow this season. Usually by this time of the year, metro residents would have shoveled more than three times as much snow.
Likewise, Rochester has only seen half the amount of snow it usually does, and St. Cloud is behind about 7 inches.
The only areas that are around average are in northern Minnesota. International Falls and Brainerd are only about an inch or two behind average. Duluth has seen nearly three feet of snow this season, and even that is a few tenths of an inch below average.
Meanwhile, the coastal areas of Georgia and the Carolinas currently have as much snow – or even more – than the Twin Cities metro.
Snow depth map from this morning. Several locations on the East Coast have more snow on the ground than Minneapolis/St. Paul does. Current snow depth at MSP Airport is 3". #snowdrought #mnwx #wiwx pic.twitter.com/QVzVSCYSCc
— NWS Twin Cities (@NWSTwinCities) January 4, 2018
On Thursday, the snow depth at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was at 3 inches. Meanwhile, about 1,200 miles to the southeast, at Charleston International Airport, the snow depth was 5 inches, and the runway was closed due to snow and ice.
The rare southern snows this week were due to a "bomb cyclone" that unleashed blizzard conditions on the Eastern Seaboard.
Looking ahead, there's no big snowstorm in the forecast for Minnesota.
However, the weekend does look to bring a break from the subzero cold. Highs Sunday are expected to be in the upper 20s in the Twin Cities.
