Spring arrives in Minnesota at 12:14 a.m. and with storms

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It's officially spring in Minnesota -- as if we couldn't already tell from the weather. The spring equinox, which happened at 12:14am, means the length of the day and night are virtually the same, thanks to the sun being positioned directly over the equator of the Earth.

With the arrival of spring this year comes record early ice-out dates across the state including White Bear Lake, where the ice disappeared two days earlier than its previous record set 12 years ago. Another notable record melted in the summer-like warmth of this unusual March with the ice melting off Green Lake in central Minnesota, cracking the old record by three days.

More records fell on Monday as Minnesota's warm March weather continues to hold on. Upper 70's were recorded throughout central and southern Minnesota, toasting previous record highs by seven-degrees around both the Twin Cities and St. Cloud. Forecasters predict statewide highs today ranging from the low 70's in the southeast to mid-50's in northwestern Minnesota.

Strong storms caused a fair amount of damage across southern Minnesota. The LeSueur County Sheriff's Office reports downed trees and power lines along with damaged docks in the area of Elysian Township, where 50-mile-an-hour winds and thunderstorms ripped through during the dinner hour last night. At the same time, the sheet metal roof over some gas pumps in the city of Carver got blown off in the stormy weather last night.

Tags: news, minnesota, weather