Typically Tom Freeman doesn’t grill in winter, but with unusually warm temperatures in the middle of February, he thought a grilled cheeseburger sounded great on Sunday night.

“Usually by this time of year I can’t even get to my grill because it’s covered in snow, but not this year,” Freeman said. “It’s such an odd year.”

This Golden Valley native says he doesn’t remember a mild winter quite like this one. “By February we are usually sick of looking at snow on the ground, and praying for warmer weather.”

While Freeman's backyard has a dusting of snow on it now from Monday night, he is still concerned about the risk of fire in the spring.

Freeman isn’t the only one concerned.

“Winter is usually a time of low fire danger in Minnesota, but this winter is different, with snow drought in most of the state,” said Jean Goad, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center.

“Fuels such as grasses and brush, which are usually covered with snow, are freeze-dried and available to burn this winter.”

Northern Minnesota has already dealt with an out-of-season fire, with more than 750 acres burned in late December. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources called the fire “extremely unusual for this time of year.”

While there is more snow in the forecast this week, meteorologists aren’t sure what the rest of winter will bring. The state has only seen 15.3 inches of snow, not including last night's totals. According to reports, if Minnesota didn’t get any more snow this year it would go down as the least snowiest year in 82 years.

The lack of snow has prompted the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to restrict burning in many counties across the state and warn everyone to be aware of the dry conditions.