How Long Will This Winter Last in Sioux Falls?

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow yesterday so that means we're supposed to have six more weeks of winter and no early spring. He's wrong. This winter will persist well beyond March 16.

I freely admit I am not a meteorologist and have no idea what I'm really talking about. I'm also not psychic. But as a lifelong fan of the Minnesota Vikings, and sufferer of general bad luck, I feel like a modest expert in pessimism and unfortunate events.

Since this has been the coldest winter since the mid-1990's, and we haven't had a big snow storm yet this year, I am going with a warmed up, unofficial first day of spring on April 19.

Why April 19? Because we are due for a big snow storm and we haven't really had one, at least in Sioux Falls, since Christmas in 2009 when we got 20 inches. Last year on April 9, the "Ice-pocalypse" occurred. The latest heavy snowfall in Sioux Falls was 10.5 inches on April 28, 1994.  And lighter bouts of snow have previously fallen well into May. Therefore, we have absolutely no shot of winter ending before March 16.

I don't think we'll get a big snow storm in April, but I feel like we're going to get a foot or so around the end of March, followed by another cold snap where the temp doesn't get above zero for a week or two. This will keep the snow around until the middle of April when we finally get our first day above 50 degrees.

Joe Mauer also turns 31 that day and it can't be winter after Joe's birthday, can it?