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Much of Minnesota could see snow on Thursday and high temperatures on St. Patrick's Day struggling to make it into the mid-20s. Which is nearly a complete 180 from how warm it was on St. Patrick's Day in the Land of 10,000 Lakes 11 years ago.

When it comes to weather in March here in the North Star State, we can expect both huge snowstorms AND summer-like warm temperatures. And with the forecast this week calling for high temperatures nearly 15 degrees colder than our average high of 40 degrees, I was wondering if you remembered how warm it *can* be on St. Patrick's Day.

Despite this year, Mother Nature HAS given us some spring-like weather during mid-March. But for the warmest St. Patrick's Day, you have to go back over a decade, to March of 2012, when it was pretty warm in Minnesota.

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And not just for a day or two, either. In fact, the entire month of March 2012 was a warm one. The National Weather Service (NWS) office in La Crosse noted that March 2012 is notable for its record-breaking warmth. And former KTTC meteorologist Randy Brock echoed that sentiment, as he noted on his Facebook page earlier this week.

 

And Randy was right on with that forecast for Rochester. The NWS says we set new records for high temperatures on 8 different days in March of 2012, including on St. Patrick's Day, when the thermometer topped out at a whopping 81 degrees!

Do you remember what you were doing that year? I sure do. My wife and I were busy making final preparations for our move down to Rochester that spring and had stopped off for a green beer (or two) in St. Paul at Sweeny's Saloon.

And it was warm enough that day in St. Paul that we were able to sit out on their deck in short sleeve shirts and shorts and soak in the sun while we enjoyed our green beer. It's not often in Minnesota you get to do that on St. Patrick's Day, am I right?

Speaking of St. Patrick's Day, while it'll be just a *BIT* colder this year, you can still get in the spirit with the Rochester Caledonia Pipe Band. Keep scrolling to check out the full schedule for their Parade of Pubs!

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