Sunny but very cold; warmer this coming week

We're running out of ways to say cold!

Most Minnesotans woke up to temperatures in the 20s below zero today.

Winds were just strong enough to create wind chill temps in the -30 to -45 range for most areas.

At 9 a.m., the official temperature at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 20 below zero. This is the coldest official Twin Cities temp since we hit 23 below zero on January 6, 2014.  That was during the "polar vortex" winter of 2013-2014.

Wind chill temperatures in the -25 to -45 range are expected over Minnesota and western Wisconsin this morning.

Frostbite can happen in a little as 10 minutes with these wind chill temps, so you'll want to cover up as you head out today.

The National Weather Service has wind chill warnings for most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin through noon today, with wind chill advisories for the northeast:

The wind chill warnings go all the way up to the Canadian border:

Here are some wind chill warning details, from the Twin Cities NWS office:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN

259 AM CST SUN DEC 18 2016

...BITTERLY COLD WIND CHILLS THROUGH NOON TODAY...

.WIND CHILL VALUES WILL RANGE FROM 20 BELOW TO 40 BELOW ZERO

AROUND SUNRISE...AND GRADUALLY WARM DURING THE MORNING. WIND CHILL

WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES REMAIN IN EFFECT ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH

NOON ON SUNDAY.

MNZ041>045-047>070-073>078-082>085-091>093-WIZ014-023-024-181700-

/O.CON.KMPX.WC.W.0002.000000T0000Z-161218T1800Z/

DOUGLAS-TODD-MORRISON-MILLE LACS-KANABEC-STEVENS-POPE-STEARNS-

BENTON-SHERBURNE-ISANTI-CHISAGO-LAC QUI PARLE-SWIFT-CHIPPEWA-

KANDIYOHI-MEEKER-WRIGHT-HENNEPIN-ANOKA-RAMSEY-WASHINGTON-

YELLOW MEDICINE-RENVILLE-MCLEOD-SIBLEY-CARVER-SCOTT-DAKOTA-

REDWOOD-BROWN-NICOLLET-LE SUEUR-RICE-GOODHUE-WATONWAN-BLUE EARTH-

WASECA-STEELE-MARTIN-FARIBAULT-FREEBORN-POLK-ST. CROIX-PIERCE-

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ALEXANDRIA...LONG PRAIRIE...

LITTLE FALLS...PRINCETON...MORA...MORRIS...GLENWOOD...ST CLOUD...

FOLEY...ELK RIVER...CAMBRIDGE...CENTER CITY...MADISON...BENSON...

MONTEVIDEO...WILLMAR...LITCHFIELD...MONTICELLO...MINNEAPOLIS...

BLAINE...ST PAUL...STILLWATER...GRANITE FALLS...OLIVIA...

HUTCHINSON...GAYLORD...CHASKA...SHAKOPEE...HASTINGS...

REDWOOD FALLS...NEW ULM...ST PETER...LE SUEUR...FARIBAULT...

RED WING...ST JAMES...MANKATO...WASECA...OWATONNA...FAIRMONT...

BLUE EARTH...ALBERT LEA...OSCEOLA...HUDSON...RIVER FALLS...

PRESCOTT

259 AM CST SUN DEC 18 2016

...WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST TODAY...

* EXPECT WIND CHILLS TO RANGE FROM 25 BELOW ZERO TO 40 BELOW ZERO

UNTIL NOON SUNDAY...WITH THE COLDEST WIND CHILLS OCCURRING

AROUND 6 AM.

* THE DANGEROUSLY COLD WIND CHILLS WILL CAUSE FROSTBITE IN AS

LITTLE AS 10 MINUTES TO EXPOSED SKIN.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

AVOID GOING OUTSIDE IF POSSIBLE. OTHERWISE MAKE SURE TO DRESS IN

LAYERS...COVER EXPOSED SKIN...AND HAVE WARM CLOTHES AND A PHONE

WITH YOU IF TRAVELING.

Cold today, then warmer

Highs today will be below zero in most of Minnesota, with a peek above zero possible in the southwest:

Last December, our coldest high temperature in the Twin Cities was 20 degrees above zero.

Temps dip a bit this evening, then they'll slowly rise later tonight.

Highs Monday will pop into the 20s over most of Minnesota:

On Tuesday, most Minnesotans will see highs in the lower 30s:

Tuesday will be our first warmer than normal day in the Twin Cities since December 6th!

Wednesday snow 

NOAA's Global Forecast System model shows a low pressure system tracking across Minnesota on Wednesday:

We could see enough snow to shovel in parts of Minnesota from Wednesday into Wednesday evening, but it doesn't look like a major winter storm at this point.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.