Just putting this down for the record before the media drumbeat for “warmest winter ever” gets rolling again.
The Winter of 1877-78 is the warmest Meteorological Winter on record in the Twin Cities. The winter of 1877-78 was dubbed the “Year without a Winter.” Indeed, the winter of 1877-78 is the warmest winter on record for the Twin Cities with a December-February average temperature of 29 degrees. The next winter that compares is 1930-31 with an average temperature of 26.9 degrees. In 3rd place is the winter of 2001-02 with 26.8 degrees.
The Year Without a Winter: 1877-78, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Obviously it is too soon to reach any conclusions about the current winter, it not even being halfway through January yet, but it should be noted that 2022 wasn’t even a warm year by historical standards.
The average temperature in the Twin Cities metro area in 2022 was 46 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service. That number is below the region’s “normal,” or long-term average temperature of 46.9 degrees. The hottest air temperature in the metro was 101 degrees, and the coldest was 17 degrees below zero.