Frigid temperatures this weekend prompt cold weather advisories

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I saw a few minutes of filtered sunshine Saturday afternoon before the clouds thickened up again. It’s been so cloudy lately that it seemed bright enough for sunglasses, but I had no idea where mine were. Mild January temperatures are often accompanied by mostly cloudy skies.

Our Saturday high temperature at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 33 degrees. That was well above our average Jan. 25 high of 24 degrees. I don’t see any arctic chill over the next week or so.

Sunday highs are forecast to reach the 20s across most northern and central Minnesota, with some lower 30s in southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

The metro area tops out around 30 degrees Sunday afternoon, with light winds. Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the lower 30s Monday through Friday.

The milder-than-normal weather will probably continue into early February. The Jan. 31 through Feb. 4 temperature outlook from the NWS Climate Prediction Center shows a tendency toward warmer than normal temperatures across Minnesota and Wisconsin:

Areas of fog are possible late Saturday night and early Sunday.  Far western Minnesota will have a chance of snow showers and patchy freezing drizzle overnight Saturday night. There’s a chance of light snow showers Sunday afternoon/Sunday evening in west-central and southwestern Minnesota, and possibly in parts of south-central Minnesota as well.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern Saturday evening through Sunday evening:

You can hear updated weather information on the MPR 

, and you’ll see updated weather info on the MPR News 

If you plan to venture out onto a lake this weekend, here’s a reminder about ice safety.

 from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources indicate that at least 4 inches of clear new ice are needed to support a human:

Here are additional ice-thickness guidelines from the Minnesota DNR:

Additional info on ice safety can be found 

You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Ron Trenda

Author

How long will this mild (for January) streak continue? Who will see some flakes the next couple of days? We have the answers to those questions, plus a reminder about ice safety

No signs of arctic chill the rest of January; ice safety reminder

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