Winds to rise, temps fall following mild Thursday start

Temps early Thursday
Temperatures early Thursday morning
NOAA via pivotal weather

After touching 33 degrees in the Twin Cities early Thursday, temperatures fall as the day turns blustery. Winds will be from the northwest at 10 to 17 mph with gusts over 20. Expect to be back a few degrees below zero early Friday morning.

Roller-coaster temps

The volatile swings in temperature continue Thursday. Many places are 40 to 50 degrees warmer than 24 hours ago, much of that rise in temperature happening just during the hours of Wednesday. For most of us, our high temperature for Thursday is behind us or right now.

24 Temp change
24 hour change in temperatures
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, via pivotal weather

A chunk of cold air is sliding south dropping temperatures for the next 36 hours or so. This will not be a repeat of the last couple of frigid days, however. We will be back below zero to start early Friday morning for most places.

Lows Friday
Low temperatures early Friday morning
NOAA via pivotal weather

Friday afternoon will stay cool, but highs will be in the low teens, considerably warmer than Tuesday’s high in the low single digits.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.

Highs Fridya
High temperatures Friday afternoon
National Weather Service

We’ll already be back well into the 20s for Saturday and Sunday. In fact, highs will likely be above freezing again Monday.

highs saturday
High temperatures Saturday
NOAA, via pivotal weather

Beyond that, things look to cool down again mid to late week next week but to what extent is still a question.

The models have been going back and forth with just how far south the coldest arctic air gets, so there’s hope we may not be quite so frigid. Stay tuned on that.