Bitterly cold air has been with us for the past several days. The Arctic air mass moved in late Friday, and stayed with us for Saturday and Sunday.
This cold air mass hung around into Monday as well as highs remained below zero with overnight lows of -10 to -20 very common. Factoring in the winds, it felt more like -20 to -40 at times across much of the state.
Finally on Tuesday, we saw temperatures make a little progress as we hit single digits above zero for daytime highs. This felt like a heat wave from what we experienced over the weekend.
We will continue to see single digits and teens for highs over the next couple of days. However, by this weekend, we should experience temps back to “normal” for this time of the year.
Don’t expect much in the way of moisture through the weekend. A clipper-type system could bring some light snow Wednesday into Thursday across mainly northern Minnesota. If this tracks further south, we could see some light snow in other areas as well.
Be safe with the cold temperatures.
Weather history: On this date in 1931, National Weather Service records show that a “heat wave” hit Minnesota. It was mild across the state as it hit 61 degrees at St. Peter.
Weather facts: Did you know that a heat wave in the winter is welcomed, but a heat wave during the summer can kill more Americans than any other weather phenomena.
MN AT A GLANCE:
Moorhead Low -14 High 6
Duluth Low -7 High 10
Central Minn. Low -7 High 9
Twin Cities Low -3 High 17
Marshall Low -2 High 17
Rochester Low -1 High 20
Wednesday: Partly cloudy. High 9 Low -5 Winds: WSW 5-10 mph Prec. None
Today’s sunrise: 7:43 a.m.
Today’s sunset: 5:27 p.m.
Normal High: 21
Normal Low: 4
Temperatures will slowly warm up a bit as the week progresses. We should be back to more seasonal temperatures by this weekend.
Thursday: Partly cloudy. High 9 Low 5 Wind: WNW 5-10 mph Prec. Trace-.20”
Friday: Mostly cloudy. High 12 Low -1 Wind: ESE 10-15 mph Prec. None
Saturday: Mostly cloudy and warmer, 20% chance of snow. High 21 Low 11 Wind: SSW 10-15 mph Prec. Trace-.20”
Sunday: Partly cloudy. High 20 Low 11 Wind: WNW 10-15 mph Prec. None