One more Arctic night, then not as cold

The coldest air of this otherwise-mild winter settled in over the weekend. The Twin Cities bottomed out at minus 14 Sunday morning and was close to that again this morning. A passing blanket of low clouds prevented further cooling.

Those temperatures are not especially frigid by historical standards. My first winter in Minnesota was the brutal winter of 1976-1977. I well remember January 1977 when the period from Jan. 8 through Jan. 17 made me wonder how people actually survived here. Eight of those 10 days experienced lows of minus 22 below or colder in the Twin Cities. The coldest morning was a record 32 below zero on Jan. 9, only to be followed by a record minus 31 two days later. Note that the high temperature on Jan. 16 that year was just 12 below zero.

Wind chill advisories continue this morning for most of Minnesota except the western edge.

High temperatures today should be within a few degrees either side of zero statewide.

Lows tonight are likely to run from 10 below zero down to around minus 20.

Tomorrow won't be quite as cold. The Arctic air will begin to slide off to the east to be replaced, gradually, by air of Pacific origin. Expect highs on Tuesday ranging from around 5 to about 15.

As part of the changing weather pattern, a storm will pass by with some decent snowfall expected a state or two to our south. Minnesota probably will get just some light snow or flurries Tuesday, with the best chance of an inch or so near the Iowa border.

Our escape from the Arctic chill will become complete this weekend. Temperatures should warm close to freezing on Sunday.  And no major storms are on tap for this week.