Review of my first trip to Minneapolis (start)

[Pincho-toot]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

FYI the mugginess in MSP this morning is almost as bad as Denton. Just checked.

It's about 78 in Denton with an awful dewpoint of 74! MSP is about 76 with a muggy dewpoint of 68. And it's not even 7 a.m. yet.

I realize it'll likely be like this another month or two in Denton whereas MSP will vary and get more comfy in a month. But their summers can get brutally hot and/or humid at times and the winter can be brutal: not a good recipe for most people.

If you enjoyed the density of MSP, I think you'd fall in love with Boston and Cambridge... but housing and rentals are sky high here vs. MSP.

It's muggy today because we had a thunderstorm, which was much needed. It's usually only muggy here during the summer mornings, but it's quite dry by the afternoon. It's very rarely comparable to Miami or New Orleans. I didn't find Minneapolis to be very humid when I was there. But I like how it can be 90 one day, and 75 the next.

I know winters can be brutal, but that's what I want. I wanna be able to play on the ice and have it be thick! We chatted with a lady up there who said "oh, you guys'll love it up here! The pay is great and so are the seasons, especially if you like winter." I feel like people embrace the hardcore winter up there, and how can you not, with the US Pond Hockey Championships being held up there?

I've been dying to visit Boston. The history, the architecture, the trees, the dining.. Yea it's wicked expensive over there, though. I think Boston's my favourite city I haven't visited yet.

[Pincho-toot]

Originally Posted by Ursicinus

That's just it: it definitely gets muggy and horrible here, but it's only for a couple weeks each year, instead of like 6 months in Florida And as has been said 1,000 times on here, the winters are cold, but even the "brutal cold" only lasts a few weeks, too. Most of the time it's just pretty much how winter *used to be* everywhere else in the North: between freezing and 20, intermittent snow. I'll never understand how people will claim this is terrible, but are somehow okay with 37 degrees and rain, like you get everywhere else.

I agree with this. I haven't spent a winter in MN yet but numbers are more neutral than people. Numbers show that it averages above 0 as a low in winter. And highs reach the 20s. Hell, in December the average high is 28 which I do not consider even close to brutal. That's a perfect winter temp. I think if someone thinks winters are too cold in Minneapolis for it to be liveable, they just don't want winters at all. MPLS winters seem as cold as they need to be to be perfectly wintry. I mean like consistent snowcover from December until March.

Now if we were talking about northern Minnesota, or North Dakota yea that seems too cold for my tastes, but a place that averages in the 20s is perfect. Places that average highs in the 30s seem like they'll be hit and miss for snow and more slushy. Average highs in the teens is just frigid. 20s is the right balance IMO.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by BadgerFilms

I agree with this. I haven't spent a winter in MN yet but numbers are more neutral than people. Numbers show that it averages above 0 as a low in winter. And highs reach the 20s. Hell, in December the average high is 28 which I do not consider even close to brutal. That's a perfect winter temp. I think if someone thinks winters are too cold in Minneapolis for it to be liveable, they just don't want winters at all. MPLS winters seem as cold as they need to be to be perfectly wintry. I mean like consistent snowcover from December until March.

Now if we were talking about northern Minnesota, or North Dakota yea that seems too cold for my tastes, but a place that averages in the 20s is perfect. Places that average highs in the 30s seem like they'll be hit and miss for snow and more slushy. Average highs in the teens is just frigid. 20s is the right balance IMO.

Winter temperatures are mild in the Twin Cities compared to the Northwoods or "Northland" region of MN and adjacent WI and UP. During a colder winter a few years ago I was up in northern Wisconsin in March and the air temperature was around -32F that morning. The chances of that happening in the Twin Cities with the urban heat island and in March are very low.

[Drewcifer]

I've lived in the Twin Cities since 1987 and I think we have only hit -30 air temp once in that time.

[Pincho-toot]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

Winter temperatures are mild in the Twin Cities compared to the Northwoods or "Northland" region of MN and adjacent WI and UP. During a colder winter a few years ago I was up in northern Wisconsin in March and the air temperature was around -32F that morning. The chances of that happening in the Twin Cities with the urban heat island and in March are very low.

Yea, even in St. Cloud where my aunt and uncle in law live, it's considerably colder. The snow melts later and their average low in January is -1 compared to 7 in MPLS and their average low in April is 32 which makes a hell of a difference with MPLS' being around 37. There's a difference between freezing and non-freezing even with only a few degrees a difference.

[Ursicinus]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

Winter temperatures are mild in the Twin Cities compared to the Northwoods or "Northland" region of MN and adjacent WI and UP. During a colder winter a few years ago I was up in northern Wisconsin in March and the air temperature was around -32F that morning. The chances of that happening in the Twin Cities with the urban heat island and in March are very low.

Yeah I've lived here for several years, but it only got like, dangerously cold one time, and it was in January, not March. (You know, the "throw boiling water up in the air and watch it freeze on the way down" cold.)

Anyway, BadgerFilms, we normally get at least one solid month of "safe to walk on any lake you want" cold, but it's usually more than that. Best part is that a lot of city lakes have hockey rinks set up on them in the winter, which are typically groomed to a certain degree, so oftentimes even if it snows, you can show up at 9AM and have good ice to skate on. Other times though it won't snow for weeks and you really want to go skiing on the lakes, but you can't

[Drewcifer]

I like walking on lakes. I try to walk out to the middle of Lake Calhoun at least once every winter. It is cool because once you are far enough from the shore you can't hear the city even though you can see it all around you.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by BadgerFilms

Yea, even in St. Cloud where my aunt and uncle in law live, it's considerably colder. The snow melts later and their average low in January is -1 compared to 7 in MPLS and their average low in April is 32 which makes a hell of a difference with MPLS' being around 37. There's a difference between freezing and non-freezing even with only a few degrees a difference.

That -32F in March I mentioned was by Manitowish Waters, north of Woodruff, WI close to the UP. The coldest ever reported temperature in the state of WI was at Couderay by Hayward in 1996, -55F. The lowest recorded temperature in MN was Tower at -60F, also in 1996.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower,_Minnesota

[Grizzly Addams]

Originally Posted by Drewcifer

I like walking on lakes. I try to walk out to the middle of Lake Calhoun at least once every winter. It is cool because once you are far enough from the shore you can't hear the city even though you can see it all around you.

The coolest part is hearing the non-frozen water underneath hit the ice and make a loud "thud".

[Oberon476]

Then you see that long crack forming in the ice and start thinking "ohoh"...