From whiteouts to dangerous cold, an arctic blast hits Minnesota
Temperatures rebound by the weekend
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A strong cold front is battering Minnesota with snow, high winds, and dangerous cold that will last a couple of days.
Strong cold front
A strong, fast-moving cold front has made its way across more than half of Minnesota and will continue to move southeast, through the entire state by Wednesday afternoon.
It has already sent temperatures tumbling below zero for northern Minnesota, and much of the state will be below zero by Wednesday afternoon.
The system is also bringing high winds that have gusted over 50 mph near the North Dakota border. All of Minnesota will see windy conditions by later Wednesday.
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Those high winds combined with the falling temperatures have been dropping wind chills to 30 or 40 below for parts of northern and western Minnesota.
The front is also bringing light snow, with most of Minnesota likely to see 1 inch or less, and parts of northern Minnesota that could see 2 or 3 inches.
The snow moves through quickly, and most of it clears out by Wednesday afternoon.
However, because of the high winds, the snow has caused whiteout conditions near the Red River Valley.
With the high winds spreading south, almost all of western Minnesota is under a blizzard warning (highlighted in red).
Other portions of the state are under winter weather advisories (purple), wind chill warnings (gray) and wind chill advisories (blue), for the variety of dangerous conditions the state will experience.
Lingering cold
Although a few parts of southern Minnesota might see colder air temperatures Friday, most of Minnesota will see the coldest morning behind the front come Thursday, especially when factoring in wind.
Wind chills Thursday morning will be dangerously cold, ranging from 25 to 45 below.
Most of Minnesota remains below zero all of Thursday and through Friday morning.
Temperature rebound
Milder air moves in Friday afternoon, pushing temperatures into the teens and 20s. It will still feel colder though, because winds pick back up during the day.
By Saturday, the entire state is above average, with 20s and even 30s in the forecast.
Light snow will also move in Friday night and through Saturday morning, but it looks like most of the state will only see one inch or less.
Sunday stays seasonable with a bit more sunshine.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:48 a.m. Monday through Friday morning.
