Arctic cold and dangerous wind chills Saturday night and Sunday a.m.
Very cold on Monday too
Our high temp at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 3 below zero on Saturday. According to Twin Cities weather records tabulated by the Minnesota State Climatology Office, that appears to set a new record for the coldest Feb. 13 high temp, which had been zero and was set in 1909:
The record coldest high temp for Valentine’s Day in the Twin Cities is -5, and that record may also be in jeopardy.
Dangerously cold wind chills Saturday night and Sunday morning
Wind chill warnings cover Minnesota and much of Wisconsin this Saturday night and Sunday morning:
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Of course, “tonight” in the image above refers to Saturday night.
Wind chills are expected to be in the -35 to -50 degree range, and frostbite on exposed skin can happen in just a few minutes at those wind chill values.
The wind chill warning in the Twin Cities metro area starts at 9 p.m. this Saturday and continues until 11 a.m. on Sunday. Here are details, from the NWS:
MNZ052-053-060>063-070-078-WIZ014>016-023>028-140600- /O.EXT.KMPX.WC.W.0001.210214T0300Z-210214T1700Z/ Isanti-Chisago-Hennepin-Anoka-Ramsey-Washington-Dakota-Goodhue- Polk-Barron-Rusk-St. Croix-Pierce-Dunn-Pepin-Chippewa-Eau Claire- Including the cities of Cambridge, Center City, Minneapolis, Blaine, St Paul, Stillwater, Hastings, Red Wing, Osceola, Rice Lake, Ladysmith, Hudson, River Falls, Menomonie, Durand, Chippewa Falls, and Eau Claire 215 PM CST Sat Feb 13 2021 ...WIND CHILL WARNING NOW IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 AM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Dangerously cold wind chills expected. Wind chills as low as 45 below zero. * WHERE...Portions of northwest and west central Wisconsin and east central and southeast Minnesota. * WHEN...From 9 PM this evening to 11 AM CST Sunday. * IMPACTS...The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Avoid outside activities if possible. When outside, make sure you wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves.
Wind Chill temps could approach 60 below zero in parts of northern Minnesota overnight and Sunday morning:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 306 PM CST Sat Feb 13 2021 ...PROLONGED PERIOD OF VERY COLD TEMPERATURES AND WIND CHILLS... MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-035-037-140915- /O.NEW.KDLH.WC.W.0005.210214T0000Z-210214T1800Z/ /O.NEW.KDLH.WC.Y.0011.210214T1800Z-210215T1800Z/ /O.EXT.KDLH.WC.Y.0010.000000T0000Z-210214T0000Z/ Koochiching-North St. Louis-Northern Cook and Lake-North Itasca- Central St. Louis-Southern Lake-Southern Cook-North Cass- South Itasca-Northern Aitkin-Carlton and South St. Louis- Including the cities of International Falls, Ely, Isabella, Bigfork, Hibbing, Two Harbors, Silver Bay, Grand Marais, Walker, Grand Rapids, Hill City, and Duluth 306 PM CST Sat Feb 13 2021 ...WIND CHILL ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING... ...WIND CHILL WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO NOON CST SUNDAY... ...WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON SUNDAY TO NOON CST MONDAY... * WHAT...For the Wind Chill Warning, dangerously cold wind chills expected. Wind chills as low as 60 below zero. For the Wind Chill Advisory, very cold wind chills expected. Wind chills as low as 35 below zero. * WHERE...Portions of east central, north central and northeast Minnesota. * WHEN...For the Wind Chill Warning, from 6 PM this evening to noon CST Sunday. For the Wind Chill Advisory, from noon Sunday to noon CST Monday. * IMPACTS...The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 5 minutes. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Avoid outside activities if possible. When outside, make sure you wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves. Use caution while traveling outside. Wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves.
You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR network, and you’ll see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
Temperature trends
Low temps Saturday night and early Sunday will be in the 30s below zero in far northern Minnesota, with 20s below zero in most other areas:
Sunday highs will be in the single digits below zero in most areas, with teens below in parts of the north:
Sunday night/early Monday lows will be mainly in the 20s below zero:
Monday highs are slightly above or slightly below zero:
Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be around zero on Monday, followed by 7 above zero on Tuesday, 14 on Wednesday, and upper teens on Thursday. The metro area could reach the mid 20s on Friday….which would still be a few degrees shy of our average Twin Cities high for this time of year.
Some forecast models give us highs around 30 degrees in the Twin Cities metro area next weekend. Temps may be a bit above normal the following week. The NWS Climate Prediction Center shows a tendency for above normal temperatures in Minnesota and western Wisconsin from Feb. 21 through Feb. 27:
We’ll see if that pans out.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.