Record low temps could be broken early next week

Cooler temperatures
Cooler temperatures on the way
National Weather Service

Minnesota might feel a little like Christmas in July in the coming days.

The National Weather Service predicts lows in the Twin Cities may dip into the 40s on Tuesday morning after a cold front moves into the region Sunday.

"Monday night ... it's going to be pretty chilly," says Bill Borghoff, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen. "It's certainly unusual to see highs in the low to mid 60s. But that should only last about a day or so, and then kick out of here and we should start to see some good warm air coming back from the Rockies."

That cold air could actually bring temperatures below the warmest Christmas day on record for the area: It was 51 degrees in 1922, according to climate data from the National Climatic Data Center. It could also near the recent record for that day. The December 25th temperature hit 45 in 1994.

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Next week's cool streak could also break the all-time low temperature record for July 15, a 49-degree mark set in 1912. It hasn't dipped into the 50s in the second week of July since 2000. The weather service says the temperature could even dip down into the mid-40s on the Iron Range on Monday night and into the 40s again on Tuesday night there.

Of course, Minnesota is used to getting a cold blast from Canada, but it's usually the well-known Alberta Clipper bringing down the polar cold.

"It's a little bit different than an Alberta Clipper, since the low is across eastern Canada," Borghoff says. "But that low, to our northeast, is going to be dragging a whole bunch of cold air down."

So put away the swim suit and break out the sweaters for Monday and Tuesday.