Slightly arctic Friday morning, then a classic Minnesota winter weekend ahead
Subzero start Friday gives way to a great weekend for outdoor winter activities
Our thermal roller coaster ride continues into Friday morning.
This next cold front is only slightly arctic, and not as cold as earlier this week. Hard to believe I typed that. I must be way too used to our Minnesota winters. Friday morning would be a full-blown weather emergency in places like Texas or Florida.
Overnight lows Friday morning will be below zero across Minnesota. We should bottom out around 7 below zero around the Twin Cities, with temperatures closer to minus 20 up north Friday morning.
Classic winter weekend
I love it when we get weekends like this in winter. I guess if I controlled the weather, I’d get more votes for our subzero nights during the week in Minnesota, with a mix of sun and clouds and highs in the 20s on winter weekends.
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This weekend brings nearly ideal temperatures for outdoor winter activities.
Wild temperature swings
Don’t like the weather in Minnesota? Just wait 15 minutes. Or maybe 15 hours.
We’ve recorded some dramatic temperature swings in Minnesota in the past 36 hours.
Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport: 16 below zero at 7 a.m. Wednesday, to 33 at 4 a.m. Thursday. (49-degree swing)
St. Cloud: minus 23 at 4 a.m. Wednesday, to 34 degrees at 6 p.m. Wednesday. (57-degree swing)
Believe it or not, the record for the largest daily temperature swing in Minnesota is 72 degrees in Nett Lake on Feb. 2, 1970. The temperatures went from -35 to +37!
The average daily temperature range this time of year in the Twin Cities is about 15 degrees. So these rapid swings are three to four times the average daily temperature range for January.
Hang in there, Minnesota.