Weather column: As I write this weather column, I was telling my wife Tracey that I don’t know when I have written so many negative numbers when it comes to writing the projected temperatures in my 20 years of writing weather columns.
Many of you are still digging out from the snow Sunday into Monday where we had another winter snowstorm. Winter storm warnings and blizzard warnings were posted across much of the area. Reports of 4 to 8 inches of snow were common with the latest winter storm. The wind also caused white-out conditions at times across the state.
On the backside of this winter storm has come some of the coldest temperatures that we have seen in many years. Late last week, Gov. Tim Walz said that he would be more than likely closing schools statewide due to the extremely cold weather Tuesday-Thursday. It has been a few years since a Minnesota governor has had to do this to protect the students.
Former Gov. Mark Dayton closed school statewide back on Jan. 6, 2014. Also, former Gov. Arne Carlson did it three times back in 1994, 1996, and 1997 due to the extreme cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills.
We should finally get a break from the cold by Saturday. We could actually reach the teens for highs by Friday. (Just to be clear, this is above zero for a change). If you like this news, you will love that we could reach the 30s by Saturday! However, we could see some snow returning once again by Saturday into Sunday.
I think most of us will take the snow over the extreme cold. Stay warm everyone, and keep the winter survival kits handy!
Weather history: On this date in 1893 temperatures dropped 40 degrees in just five hours across parts of Minnesota as a blizzard pushed across the region.
Weather fact: Did you know that blizzards can cause a variety of problems besides travel difficulties? One other problem is power outages due to “strong winds and heavy snow.”
Almanac:
Sunrise: 7:46 a.m.
Sunset: 5:24 p.m.
Normal High: 20
Normal Low: 2
MN AT A GLANCE:
Moorhead Low 39 High -23
Duluth Low -30 High -10
Central Minn. Low -34 High -20
Twin Cities Low -30 High -16
Rochester Low -36 High -19
Marshall Low -30 High -14
Wednesday: Partly cloudy and extremely cold. High -20 Low -29 Wind: NW 10-20 mph Prec. None
It will be extremely cold for the midweek. We could see some record low temperatures on Wednesday. Temperatures will moderate slightly on Thursday. Some 30s are possible on Saturday along with some snow chances returning by Saturday into early Sunday.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy to cloudy and not as cold. High -4 Low -10 Winds: SE 10-15 mph Prec. None
Friday: Mostly cloudy to cloudy and warmer. High 16 Low 13 Wind: SE 10-15 mph Prec. None
Saturday: Cloudy, 30-percent chance of snow/wintry mix late. High 34 Low 16 Wind: SE 10-15>20 mph Prec. Trace-.20”
Sunday. Mostly cloudy to cloudy, 40-percent chance of snow early. High 19 Low 9 Wind: NW 10-15 mph Prec. Trace-.20”