Minnesotans had a taste of summer on Monday when temperatures soared to the mid 60s and almost tied a record high, missing it by just one degree.
Temperatures in the Twin Cities reached 65 degrees, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), narrowly missing the record high for March 10 of 66 degrees set in 2015.
It was “a remarkably warm mid-March day,” NWS forecasters said. Many Minnesotans took advantage, shedding their coats and other winter gear to spend time outside.
After a large dumping of snow last week, the “weather whiplash” has been noticeable as temperatures dramatically shot up in recent days.
The warmer weather came with an elevated risk for wildfires as humidity levels were low and winds were high. Red flag warnings, meaning fires can spread quickly and grow out of control under the predicted weather conditions, were in place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. across the northwestern and west-central counties of Becker, Clay, Clearwater, Grant, Hubbard, Mahnomen, Norman, Otter Tail, Wadena and Wilkin.
The warnings included Big Stone and Traverse counties on the Minnesota-South Dakota border and Lincoln and Lyon counties in southwestern Minnesota from 2-9 p.m.
Chippewa, Douglas, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Meeker, Pope, Redwood, Renville, Stearns, Stevens, Swift, Todd and Yellow Medicine counties are under the warning from 2-8 p.m., the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said.
“Any spark could become a wildfire under red flag conditions,” said Karen Harrison, DNR wildfire prevention specialist.
