The warm spell is good not merely because we have suffered through so much cold, but also because it should help melt off some of the heavy snow cover.

What we don’t want: Winter to stay cold and below freezing until some point in March when it all warms up for good. That would cause overland flooding in Albert Lea and perhaps basement problems for homeowners and sewer problems for the city.

What we do want: Alternating warm spells and cold spells with very little additional snowfall. We want it to melt a little. Stop. Melt a little. Stop. Melt a little. Stop. This way, we can lose this snow cover without as many dangers.

That said, goodness knows Minnesotans all deserve some nice weather after getting through yet another tough winter.

Still, let’s keep our fingers crossed for a smooth spring.