West Downtown neighborhood January 10th 2012

Another beautifully mild day and sunny with highs in the mid to upper 50s and a low above freezing occurred here in Southeastern Minnesota! Today was a day that felt much like spring and nothing like winter with a high of 57.F at my location! Birds were signing and many were out walking around without coats, and some were in short sleeves! It was nice enough that teachers at my college did classes outside today instead of remaining indoors. Southerly winds, a strengthening sun and lack of snow cover continue to feed what has become an extremely mild start to January. Everyday since the month has started has been above freezing accept 2, in fact only 3 days have even been in the 30s! The rest of the days have been in the 40s or 50s. The average high for this time of year is 24.F and the average low is around 10.F

Crocus sprouts January 10th 2012

The Crocus from last week are progressing along nicely as continued warmth has allowed them! Now they will hopefully be buried under some insulating snowfall, which will keep them dormant until our real spring arrives.

January 10th highs

Record highs were broken again today, this time at Austin, The Rochester Airport, Winona and Preston. The highest temperature in the area occurred in inner city Rochester, which had a high just shy of 60.F. The coolest reading was from Preston with a high of 51.F