Cold, with snow spreading across Minnesota Sunday afternoon and evening

Our official Twin Cities low temp was 5 below zero Sunday morning. Many spots in northern Minnesota saw lows in the 20s and 30s below zero. International Falls dipped to -42, tying their Feb. 13 low temperature record, which was set last year.

Here are some additional Sunday morning lows:

Sunday afternoon highs are expected to be in the single digits above zero in much of Minnesota plus northwestern Wisconsin. Parts of far southern Minnesota and southwestern Wisconsin will reach the teens. A few spots in the Twin Cities metro area will creep into double-digit highs late Sunday afternoon or Sunday evening—that’s well below our average Feb. 13 high of 28 degrees.

Snow forecast

Snow is expected to enter northwestern Minnesota early Sunday afternoon, then spread eastward and southeastward during the afternoon and evening.  

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s High-Resolution Rapid-Refresh (HRRR) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from noon Sunday to 11 p.m. Sunday:

It will snow in some spots that look dry in the loop, but the loop illustrates the main swath of snow that’s expected from this weather system.

The snow could arrive in the Twin Cities metro area around 5 or 6 p.m. on Sunday and continue into the evening, with around one inch of accumulation. The north metro could see a bit more than one inch.

Here are the potential snow amounts through Sunday night:

Parts of northern Minnesota could see a bit more than 2 inches:

Snow and blowing snow will cause travel problems in parts of eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota Sunday afternoon and Sunday night. Winter weather advisories (darker blue) have been issued for northeastern North Dakota and portions of northwestern Minnesota this afternoon and evening:

The lighter blue shaded area is a wind chill advisory that expires at noon. Here are details of the winter weather advisory that continues until midnight:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 258 AM CST Sun Feb 13 2022 MNZ001-004-007-NDZ007-008-015-016-026-027-029-030-054-140600- /O.NEW.KFGF.WW.Y.0018.220213T1600Z-220214T0600Z/ /O.CON.KFGF.WC.Y.0015.000000T0000Z-220213T1800Z/ West Polk-Kittson-West Marshall-Cavalier-Pembina-Ramsey- Eastern Walsh-Nelson-Grand Forks-Steele-Traill-Western Walsh- Including the cities of Crookston, East Grand Forks, Hallock, Karlstad, Lancaster, Warren, Stephen, Argyle, Langdon, Cavalier, Walhalla, Drayton, Pembina, Neche, St. Thomas, Devils Lake, Grafton, Park River, Lakota, Mcville, Aneta, Tolna, Grand Forks, Finley, Hope, Mayville, Hillsboro, Hatton, Portland, Edinburg, Adams, and Lankin 258 AM CST Sun Feb 13 2022 ...WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST TODAY... ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT... * WHAT...For the Winter Weather Advisory, snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches. South winds will gust up to 35 mph from late morning through the afternoon. There may be an hour or two of a lull in the late afternoon, before winds turn northwest and gust up to 35 mph again. Falling and blowing snow will result in visibilities below a half mile in open country. For the Wind Chill Advisory, very cold wind chills, as low as 40 below zero. * WHERE...Portions of the central and northern Red River Valley. * WHEN...For the Winter Weather Advisory, from 10 AM this morning to midnight CST tonight. For the Wind Chill Advisory, until noon CST today. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Areas of falling and blowing snow will significantly reduce the visibility. The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. Use caution while outside. Wear appropriate winter clothing. The latest road conditions for North Dakota can be found at dot.nd.gov/travel and for Minnesota at 511mn.org, or by calling 5 1 1 in either state.

Check forecast updates if you plan to travel in northeastern North Dakota or northwestern Minnesota today or tonight.

You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio News network, and you can see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog. Minnesota road conditions can be found here. 

Temperature trends

Monday morning lows will be below zero in northern and central Minnesota, with slightly above zero lows elsewhere:

Monday highs will be mainly in the teens:

Tuesday highs reach the 30s in much of southern Minnesota, with mainly 20s to the north:

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the lower 30s Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday we could start out with temps around 30 degrees a few hours before sunrise, with temps falling through the 20s during the daylight hours. Our metro area highs will then retreat to the lower teens on Thursday, before rebounding to the upper 20s on Friday.

Weather nugget

Through Saturday, our average temperature for February was running 4.9 degrees below normal at MSP airport. 

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.