The Twin Cities broke a high-temperature record by four degrees Saturday, Feb. 14, inspiring more than a few winter-weary Minnesotans to break out the shorts and T-shirts to welcome the balmy weather.
Snowbanks melted, sunshine appeared and temperatures hit 54 degrees at 4:41 p.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Typically, this date sees a high of 28 degrees and a low of 12 degrees, with 20 degrees the average temperature throughout the day.
The metro area hasn’t seen the mercury hit 50 degrees — the previous record — on Valentine’s Day since 1882, when Minneapolis was busy cementing its status as the flour mill capital of the world and Chester A. Arthur was president.
The weather was warm enough that Minneapolis Parks and Recreation has closed its ice rinks for the season. The ice rinks were to remain open through Presidents Day on Monday, but officials had previously said they would assess conditions day by day.
The Valentine’s Day cold-weather record was set in 1875, when temperatures dropped to 25 degrees below zero.
Saturday was one of several remarkably warm days in a row for the metro, giving Minnesotans a respite from the cold until midweek when cooler weather returns with a chance of rain or snow.
On Friday, another spring-like day, Minneapolis and St. Paul tied the record high temperature set in 1890 when temperatures climbed to 51, the weather service said.
