The calendar says Thursday is the start of spring.
But winter isn't disappearing anytime soon.
Minnesotans dug themselves out from another storm that swept through on Tuesday, dumping more than 9 inches of snow in Collegeville, more than 7 inches in St. Cloud and anywhere from 1 to 4 inches in the metro area before the Wednesday morning commute. And while temperatures will push into the 40s through Friday, they're expected to fall into the 20s by Saturday and hang below normal for the next couple of weeks, said Michelle Margraf, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen.
For this time of year, the normal high is in the 40s, she said.
"Looking out the next couple weeks, we don't really see a warm-up coming," Margraf said. "The snowpack is keeping the temperatures down. Once we lose the snow, we'll warm up a lot. All that white snow is reflecting all that sunlight back out to space."
And then spring should arrive — finally.
Mary Lynn Smith
