Season’s coldest air so far, 40 again by Sunday
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That was fast.
A reminder: We live at 45-degrees north latitude in the center of a continent. No mountains to block inbound air masses. No balmy ocean to modify inbound cold fronts. Air masses sweep freely overhead from any direction. When the wind turns north? Nothing between Minnesota and the Arctic Circle except a barbed wire fence.
We enjoy 72 hours of winter in Minnesota as the season's coldest air so far invades. In another December this might be a warm front after a sub-zero outbreak. Perspective.
It's all relative.
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Twin Cities: Single digits?
Your local pond, or small lake may freeze over (again?) by Saturday morning. Temperatures plunge into the single digits for the first time this season. As winds fade, the calm air and frigid temperatures will finally be perfect to freeze a thin film of ice on your local lake.
To the map. The center of cold high pressure drifts overhead early Saturday morning. Then winds turn southerly again on the backside and the warming trend kicks in once again. It's going to be tough to hang onto cold air this winter for too long.
Temperatures push 40 degrees again by Sunday afternoon in the Twin Cities.
Light winds at TCF Bank Stadium will make for a remarkable run of mild Vikings games in this transitional outdoor football season before they move into the stealthy-looking Viking ship downtown next year.
White Christmas chances still alive?
A white Christmas is assured for the northwest half of Minnesota. A blanket of 6 to 12 inches fell in northeast Minnesota this week. Even southwest Minnesota and the western part of the state has a very high chance for lingering white by next Friday.
A minor weather system in the pipeline late next week keeps hope alive for those who want white in the metro.
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Global Forecast System hint at the potential for a bigger storm just after Christmas. White New Year's?
Stay tuned.
