Dangerously cold now but a warmup is on the way

Temperatures stay bitterly cold all of Thursday and through Friday morning, before a surge of warm air brings Minnesota back above average.

Arctic cold continues

All of Minnesota started off Thursday morning brutally cold, with many parts of the state seeing wind chills of 30 to 40 below. Here were some of the temperatures and wind chills around Minnesota, including the Twin Cities, at 5 a.m.:

With plentiful sunshine, all of Minnesota will warm up 10 to 20 degrees by Thursday afternoon. However, since the state started off so cold, highs will still mostly be below zero.

Winds lessen by afternoon, but the wind chill will still make the majority of the state feel like at least 10 to 20 below.

Under mostly clear skies Thursday night, temperatures will dive again to lows Friday morning of 10 to 20 below. Even under fairly light wind for all but western Minnesota Friday morning, wind chills will still be extremely cold across the state for the start of Friday.

Increasing winds from the south will have the whole state windy by Friday afternoon, but it also brings milder air back to the state.

Temperatures surge

Temperatures already rise into the teens and 20s by Friday afternoon, and nearly all of Minnesota will see rising temperatures continue through the overnight and into Saturday.

By Saturday afternoon, the entire state will see above average temperatures in the 20s and 30s — a huge reversal from the dangerous cold!

The same system that causes the warmup brings us a chance for snow, flurries and maybe even some light freezing drizzle Friday night into early Saturday.

Northern Minnesota has the best chance of light snow accumulation of an inch or less. The associated cold front that passes through Saturday also drops temperatures slightly below average by Sunday.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:48 a.m. Monday through Friday morning.