December 2023 was the warmest on record for Crookston and the area. “November was definitely above average in terms of temperature, but December was really the kicker,” said Grand Forks National Weather Service Meteorologist Tyler Thomas. “We did set area-wide records. It was our warmest December on record.” The December records were not set at a large margin. The record was only established by two-tenths of a degree.
The Crookston area may experience one to two inches of snow this weekend. Thomas believes that getting back to normalcy may benefit Minnesotans to mitigate a later winter. “This is a nice start to January and get back to normal, and we should be expecting,” said Thomas, “Near the later part of the month, it’s going to gear toward the normal precipitation and will be near or maybe slightly below average temperatures for the rest of the month.”
The Grand Forks National Weather Service is estimating an above-average winter in terms of temperature through April. They are not receiving solid signals regarding below-average or above-average temperatures. It is said that the Weather System is getting a signal for “Chunky” snowfall rather than consistent snow flurries. In other words, Northwest Minnesota residents can expect one snowfall in one week and no snow for extended periods after the fact.
“It has certainly been well beyond normal at this point,” said Thomas. “Maybe even unprecedented to some degree. If we don’t pull down at some point, we will end at the warm end of the climate record here. I’m not sure where we need to be to be the top ten warmest ever/driest ever.” Thomas closed by saying he believes this year we are well on our way to recording one of the warmest winters in Minnesota history.
