Sure It’s Cold, But It’s Been Much, Much Colder in Minnesota
While we just slogged through our first day of this winter where the temperature didn't get above zero, we've been through stretches when it's been way colder here in Minnesota.
When I woke up Sunday morning (February 7th), our thermometer said the current temperature at our house in northwest Rochester was -19. (So, I promptly took a picture and posted it to Facebook and Twitter-- because that's what we DO in Minnesota, right?) And, the warmest it got Sunday was -1. So, yeah, that's cold. And the cold weather is expected to stick around through the upcoming weekend.
But we can take it, can't we? Living here in the Land of 10,000 (Frozen) Lakes makes us hearty and able to stand these cold snaps that would force most of the rest of the country to shut down. And, by Minnesota standards, this stretch of cold weather isn't really all THAT cold.
That's the word, anyway, from the National Weather Service Twin Cities office, who quoted the Minnesota DNR State Climatology Office last week-- before our cold snap started. They pretty much put things into perspective on just how cold it's actually been in Minnesota, historically speaking.
And, let's just say our coldest temps pretty much make this week's cold temperatures feel like a walk on the beach (well, kind of.) Assuming that our low temperatures this week hit -14 below (which, they did-- unofficially, of course-- at my house) that still ties 137 other dates in Minnesota, and only ranks 876th on our list of coldest temperatures ever.
In other words, yeah, it's cold. But it's been much, much colder. I'm not sure that's much of a consolation, but I guess things could always be worse! It's not surprising then, that a few well-known Minnesota cities have made an appearance again this year on the list of the Coldest Cities in America-- keep scrolling to see where we rank!