Dangerous cold Wednesday and again for the weekend

Wednesday is the coldest morning most of Minnesota has seen since February, and it will be topped by even colder weather to start the New Year.

Dangerous cold

The storm that brought Minnesota another round of snow and a little ice on Tuesday has departed, but not before pulling in much colder air behind it.  

The influx of cold air combined with clear skies overnight, which allowed significant radiational cooling (when clear skies and light winds allow for rapid heat loss at the surface overnight) caused temperatures to plummet.

Most of Minnesota started Wednesday between zero and 30 below zero, with not much improvement as of 9 a.m., even now that the sun is up.

For much of Minnesota, this is not only the coldest morning so far this winter, but the coldest air since the arctic outbreak last February.

Although winds are fortunately fairly light, it is enough to combine with the cold air and bring wind chills to nearly 40 below, especially in the northwestern corner of the state. 

Due to the dangerous cold, most of central and northern Minnesota is under a wind chill advisory (blue). There is a wind chill warning in effect near the North Dakota border, where temperatures and wind chills are the coldest.

Those advisories and warnings end by late morning for most of central Minnesota but currently extend as late as 6 p.m. for the northwest corner of the state.

Highs also stay well below average, with eastern and southern Minnesota making it into the single digits. Northwestern Minnesota never makes it above zero Wednesday.

Another round of cold

Thursday, a disturbance moves across Minnesota that briefly returns a southerly flow to southern Minnesota, putting that portion of the state back to late-December average highs in the 20s. Meanwhile, central and northern Minnesota stay chillier with highs in the teens and single digits.

That same disturbance also brings light snow to northern Minnesota during the day Thursday, with most places seeing under an inch of snow.

On Friday, another strong cold front moves across the state. This keeps most of northwestern Minnesota below zero all day, while teens linger southeast.

By Saturday, the arctic air behind Friday’s front keeps almost the entire state, including the Twin Cities, below zero all day. That has not happened since last February.

Under mostly clear skies Saturday night, those temperatures plunge to dangerous air temperatures in the negative teens and 20s.

Adding in wind chill, most of the state will feel like 20 to 40 below zero or colder Sunday morning.

Wind chill warnings are probable by the weekend as this can be life-threatening cold to those caught outside.

Here is that Twin Cities forecast showing the frigid weekend forecast:

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Monday through Friday morning.