Late first freeze highlights Twin Cities' lengthening growing season

Fall's first freeze arrived Friday, ending one of the longest growing seasons in the Twin Cities' recorded history.

By the numbers: 199 days passed between spring's last sub-freezing temp (on April 8) and Friday's 30-degree low.

• It's the second-longest growing season since 1938 — topped only by 2016's 220 days — and well above the historical average of around 167 days.

Between the lines: Historically, a 199-day growing season would be more typical of Kansas City than Minnesota — but "it's where our Twin Cities climate is quickly headed," meteorologist Sven Sundgaard wrote for Bring Me The News.

• "Will our climate mimic Kansas City's in 30 years or 70 years?" he added. "That's the real question."