By Martin Moylan

MPR.org/90.1 FM

If you feel we’ve had a mild winter, you’re right.

We’ve racked up just 48 points on the Winter Misery Index this year, which measures the severity of our winters, assigning points for snowfall and especially cold temperatures.

Temps in central and southern Minnesota are heading into the 50s starting this weekend, and they may even tickle 60 in some places. The forecast is extraordinary for mid-February in Minnesota — even in a period that has seen 17 straight months at above normal temperatures

We’re getting off easy this year, said MPR News meteorologist Paul Huttner.

“This is actually more like living in Kansas City, in terms of average climate over the last 100 years, than living in the Twin Cities,” Huttner said.

The warmth is forcing a change in habits for some Minnesotans.

Earlier this week, Bob Schmidt and his son pulled their icehouse off White Bear Lake, though the deadline to be off the ice is still over two weeks away.

This is the earliest they’ve pulled an icehouse to shore.

“With potentially 50 degree weather, the shoreline here will get really boggy,” Schmidt said. “There’s almost 18 inches of ice in the middle of the lake here yet, so there’s plenty out there. But it’s getting [the icehouse] off the lake that’s the hard part.”

There’s not much snow around the metro area. But there’s plenty at the Afton Alps ski area, where some warmth is actually good for business.

Afton expects a lot of people will love to get an early dose of spring skiing this weekend.