The Twin Cities' January was way warmer than normal

The Twin Cities started the year on a meteorologically high note, with daily temperatures averaging six degrees above normal throughout January, according to the National Weather Service.

The state of play: January recorded zero days below zero, NWS senior forecaster Joe Calderone noted. That followed just two sub-zero days in December. Sunday alone was 14 degrees warmer than usual.

Reality check: Don't get too used to the relatively mild conditions. The forecast shows the mercury dipping into the negatives by the end of this week.

• "We're going to see temperatures take a really strong dive," Calderone said. "I don't want to say it's inevitable, but it's part of winter here in the Midwest."

Flashback: This time two years ago, we were still thawing out from the polar vortex.

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