Pack up the parkas, we're having us a heat wave that's here to stay

Pity the neighbors who blew their vacation budget on a spring getaway to escape the cold.

On Monday, the Twin Cities area was toastier than all but a few continental U.S. metro areas. It was hotter here than in Sante Fe, N.M.; Las Vegas; San Diego, and Los Angeles. The only places warmer were the usual suspects: New Orleans, Orlando, Miami, Phoenix and St. Louis.

"Winter is over," said meteorologist Paul Douglas, Minnesota's human version of Punxsutawney Phil, the forecasting groundhog.

In like a lion and out like a lamb? Not this March. "Doors are open and tables are out!!! Come and join us for lunch on this beautiful (winter?) day!!!!" read a tweet at midday from Smack Shack in the North Loop of Minneapolis. The restaurant, known for lobster rolls, included a photo of sidewalk tables stocked with condiments and awaiting diners.

Twin Cities temperatures are forecast to be in the low 60s and mostly sunny every day but Wednesday and Thursday, when they will hover in the high 40s and low 50s.

In the next couple of weeks, Douglas expects a couple of minor winter relapses, with some slush and temperatures in the high 30s, but the probability of any more forbidding windchills is "microscopically small."

The earlier spring will be not quite as balmy as 2012, but closer to that than the spirit-crushing Polar Vortex of 2014. Ice will be off the lakes a few weeks early this year and most frost off the ground by next week, lowering the risk of river flooding, Douglas said.

Only one of the metro area's popular food trucks had revved up its engine on Monday, according to online trackers. A tweet said that the Gastrotruck was parked for lunch outside the Ford Center near Target Field and that it would be there again on Tuesday.

Alas, the high patio season can't yet spring into full flower.

At the Liffey, across from the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, manager Tom Stancampiano said customers are eager to step onto the dining patio with their libations. But the Liffey has beer lines running directly onto the patio bars, so it's not quite safe yet to get them working. "We can't open it up fully until we're sure it's not going to freeze," he said.

The Liffey will see limited patio service on Saturday for Lucky Palooza and then again on St. Patrick's Day. The patio will open for the summer in April, Stancampiano said.

Brit's Pub on Nicollet Mall faces more precarious decisions. General manager Shane Higgins staffs up in the spring and summer. During the cold months, the pub has 25 servers on staff. That number gets bumped to 75 in the summer to help customers at the popular rooftop tables and during lawn-bowling tournaments.

History, not the present warmth, is also the guide for the popular Sea Salt Eatery at Minnehaha Falls. Opening day — and the long lines it brings — is slated for April.

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747

Twitter: @rochelleolson