Much has been made of Major League Baseball having the Minnesota Twins open the season at home in late March, but the risky proposition looks like it’ll work out just fine.
The forecast for Thursday’s home opener at Target Field against the Cleveland Indians currently calls for a high temperature of 51 degrees and partly cloudy skies – not bad for hearty Minnesotans used to bundling up for the first games of spring.
Last year’s home opener fell on April 5 and it wound up being 40 degrees with flurries, so 50 with some clouds and sun is going to feel amazing for the anticipated sellout crowd.
Since Target Field opened in 2010, the weather has cooperated for the first home game of each season, with all nine being played as scheduled, although none have been as early as this year.
- April 12, 2010 – 68 degrees
- April 8, 2011 – 64 degrees
- April 9, 2012 – 48 degrees
- April 1, 2013 – 36 degrees
- April 7, 2014 – 60 degrees
- April 13, 2015 – 64 degrees
- April 11, 2016 – 44 degrees
- April 3, 2017 – 53 degrees
- April 5, 2018 – 40 degrees
According to the DNR’s Climate Journal, the coldest home opener was in 1962 when the temperature at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington was just 34 degrees in addition to a brisk wind gusting up to 21 mph.
The warmest opener came in 1980 when the high temp April 22 reached 90 degrees.
It’s too bad the Twins don’t open the season on Wednesday because the high in Minneapolis is expected to climb into the mid-60s, although there is a slight chance of rain later in the day on Wednesday.
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