Coming off a downright balmy weekend for a place like Minnesota in February, it shouldn't be a surprise that record-high temperatures were reached Sunday in the Twin Cities.
Shortly after 1 p.m., the temperature was 59 degrees, topping the record of 57 set for this date in 1981, according to the National Weather Service. The average high for Feb. 19: a touch below freezing at 30.
Crystal broke away from the pack about 3 p.m., reaching 68 degrees, according to the Weather Service.
Midafternoon temperatures hit 61 in Blaine and 59 in Eden Prairie. Just to the north of the Twin Cities, it was 61 in Princeton and Cambridge. The southwestern section of the state was even warmer, with Marshall reporting 65 and Tracy 64.
Even the northern city of Grand Rapids climbed to 53 degrees, the Weather Service reported.
Another record high of 60 is expected Monday, but this time with some moisture.
The warm weather has uncovered a smelly but apparently photogenic mess, though, at the dam where Minnehaha Creek meets Lake Minnetonka.
Dozens of people were lured to a section of Grays Bay on Sunday to gawk at a fish kill involving hundreds of fish.