From Frigid Cold To Unseasonable Warmth It's February in S. Dak

Anyone who has survived a few South Dakota winters knows that February is usually the month that tests your will to live, or at least your willingness to leave the house. It’s the time of year when your eyelashes can freeze in a nanosecond, and your car typically groans louder than you do in the morning when you're forced to get out of bed.

That’s why our latest forecast feels like finding a $20 bill in your winter coat pocket. It's that good!

According to Phil and the weather crew at Dakota News Now, we are in store for a much-needed warmup starting today and sticking around into early next week. And by “warmup,” I don’t mean “only single digits above zero.” We’re talking legit, high-five-worthy temperatures that are well above average for this time of year.

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In fact, it’s going to be so warm that some parts of the state could see temperatures climbing into the upper 50s and even the low 60s. Yes, in February. Around the Sioux Empire, that’s basically considered patio weather. You’ll see people cracking their windows, grilling brats, and applying sunblock!

Now, before anyone completely loses their mind and breaks out the Bermuda shorts, flip-flops, let’s remember this isn’t the warmest February that's ever been recorded in South Dakota. That honor belongs to February of 2016, a month that apparently decided to take a vacation in the tropics.

On February 27, 2016, South Dakota hit a balmy 73 degrees in both Mobridge and Kennebec. That same warm spell spread across much of the state, with places like Pierre, Aberdeen, and Mitchell enjoying temperatures in the upper 60s and low 70s. In other words, Mother Nature was more than just a little confused that day.

Mother Nature is known for her radical mood swings. Lord knows she can giveth and she can taketh away. On the other end of her thermometer, South Dakota also holds one of the coldest February temperatures ever recorded. Back in 1936, the town of McIntosh dropped to a teeth-chattering, bone-chilling -58 degrees below!

I’m guessing that night involved every layer of clothing known to man, industrial-strength long johns, and the entire family huddled around the fire, wondering why our ancestors ever settled here.

My advice: enjoy this warm spell while it lasts. Knowing South Dakota, in a couple of weeks, we'll be back to not being able to feel our fingers again.