More cold and dry weather ahead

It was a cold start to this week.  Most locations in central, west central, and northern Minnesota fell from 15 below to 25 below zero Monday night into Tuesday morning. Thankfully the winds were light, but there was still a Cold Weather Advisory posted for some locations in the region.

A winter storm skirted southern Minnesota earlier this week, but it did bring some heavy snow to parts of the Central Plains and the East Coast. This caused many flights to be canceled, and impacted those flying and making connecting flights out of MSP International Airport. 

I remember being “snowed in” in Phoenix after a winter storm back in 1999.  Not because of snow in Phoenix, but because the flight from Chicago to Phoenix was canceled because of heavy snow in Chicago. That jet couldn’t get out of Chicago, and that was the flight to take myself and many others from Phoenix to Los Angeles. This just goes to show you how much the weather impacts all of us on so many levels.

We will see some snow possible this Friday across our area, but we aren’t expecting a great deal of snow with this system. The long-range outlook is calling for generally a colder and drier weather ^–pattern for much of the rest of  -February. 

Weather history: On this date in 1872, NWS records show that “a severe blizzard hits

central Minnesota.” Historical data shows that “at least 6 people died in Meeker County alone” from the storm.

Weather facts:  Did you know that the “Great Blizzard of 1888” left at least 400 people dead up and down the East Coast?

MN AT A GLANCE:

Moorhead Low 15 High 0

Duluth Low 15 High 8

Central Minn. Low 13 High 4

Twin Cities 6 High 9

Marshall Low 7 High 9

Rochester Low 3 High 10

Wednesday: Partly cloudy and cold. High 4 Low -16 Wind: WSW 5-10 mph Prec. .None

Today’s sunrise: 7:28 a.m.

Today’s sunset:  5:44 p.m.

Normal High: 23

Normal Low: 5

Colder-than-normal air will continue to impact the region through this weekend.  We will see a bit of a warmer airmass move through briefly on Friday as our next system arrives. This could bring some light snow to the area. However, on the backside of that system, colder air will return for the weekend. 

Thursday: Partly to mostly sunny. High 0 Low -3 Wind: SW 5-10 Prec. None

Friday: Cloudy and a bit warmer, 50% chance of light snow. High 15 Low 0 Wind: ESE 10-20 mph Prec. Trace-.20”

Saturday: Partly cloudy and colder once again. High 3 Low -9 Wind:  NNW 10-15 mph Prec. None

Sunday:  Partly cloudy. High 1 Low -8 Wind:  WNW 10-15 mph Prec. None