Historic MN warmth resembles 1877, 'Year Without Winter'

(FOX 9) - It’s been almost 150 years since Minnesota had a December approaching this one for warmth.

Minnesota scenery is dominated by the colors brown and green late into December 2023.

For climatologist Pete Boulay, pink and yellow also rise to the top of mind as the colors indicate no frost in his measuring device.

Frost came in November but left in December.

Sprinkle in potentially record warmth and this month reminds him of something none of us lived through.

"Yep," said the Department of Natural Resources resident climate historian. "Year without a winter."

For at least a few more days, 1877 holds the record for warmest December in Minnesota.

Farmers near Minneapolis stay plowed fields late in the month.

And in the days of horse-drawn sleighs, conditions for travel were terrible.

December 2023 in Minnesota is on pace to be historically warm. (FOX 9)

"Commerce was hampered quite a bit by the open winter because you needed to have frozen ground and move things around in the winter," Boulay said.

Muddy roads are much less of a concern now, but this winter’s weather pattern might not be much different.

"Similar things had kind of happened back in 1877," said Fox 9 meteorologist Cody Matz. "It was an El Niño year that may have contributed to things."

He says what sets this year apart is the fact that every single day of the month has been above average.

So even a lot of northern Minnesota lakes are ice-free.

And the immediate forecast doesn’t hint at any Arctic blasts.

"It still looks relatively mild," Cody said. "It looks like we're still going to stay above average, but we all know that can turn."

"I remember standing like this middle of January 2019 thinking all winter must be over," Boulay said. "Then we had February 2019 where we had 30 inches of snow, below zero temperatures, about as much winter as you could pack in a month. So anything's still possible in Minnesota."

In that 1877-78 winter, wildfires hit Minnesota in February, and Lake Minnetonka ice disappeared by March 11.

But again, there’s no guarantee we’ll see this warmth push well into the new year.