Doctors have the Hippocratic oath, which roughly translates into "First, do no harm." Meteorologists take a similar vow. "First, go out of your way to annoy the public."
Forecasters have an uncanny ability to make you feel worse than you thought possible. Windchill. Heat index. Hassle Factor. Now there's a Snow & Cold Index. The Minnesota DNR evaluates temperature, snowfall and snow cover to come up with a value. Right now we're enjoying a moderate winter, much like last year. The winter of 2013-2014 was severe, but the last "very severe" winters were back in the 1980s.
A little snow, 1-3 inches, might slow things down a bit today, but the main event comes Tuesday, as a juicy storm tracks south/east of Minnesota. A plowable snowfall is likely, totals may reach 4-8 inches.
Talk about a true Goldilocks Pattern for snow lovers. The combination of northern cold and southern moisture looks JUST RIGHT into next week, with highs in the teens and 20s. At this rate February may be our snowiest month, which is quite rare.
