By Todd Nelson, filling in for Douglas:
The Winter Olympics are underway in northern Italy. Interestingly, this is the most spread-out Winter Olympics on record, geographically spanning nearly 8,500 square miles. This is also the largest U.S. winter team, with 232 athletes, including Minnesota’s own Lindsey Vonn, who is competing in her fifth Olympics. Good luck to all the competitors.
According to Climate Central, the average temperature has warmed nearly 6.4 degrees across northern Italy since the Games were held there 70 years ago, back in 1956. If the rate of warming continues, by 2050, the number of potential Winter Olympics host sites around the world could dwindle from 93 to 52 due to unreliable weather conditions.
Closer to home, weather models are showing signs of a fairly significant pattern change, which would bring warmer than average temperatures through the middle of the month. A string of 40-degree highs may not be out of the question by next weekend. However, with warmer temps there could be an increased chance of precipitation as well, including snow.
Have a good weekend!
