Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Last bitter cold night of winter? First 60 possible next week

Snow showers, cold sweep across Minnesota Friday; big warm up ahead

Sat lows
Low temperatures early Saturday morning; likely the coldest of March for many
National Weather Service

Wind chills will be frigid through the day Friday as high temperatures won’t get past the low to mid teens in southern Minnesota and barely reach zero in some places up north. Temps drop to subzero statewide overnight into Saturday.

A rapid warm up starts Sunday. The entire upper level pattern shifts to an overall warmer one all of next week.

Cold, howling wind

We’ve added the ingredient of wind to our cold temperatures Friday and that’s been creating wind chills already near 30 below zero at times in northwest Minnesota. Winds will howl through the day Friday from the west-northwest at 10-20 mph with gusts of 30 mph to 40 mph in the northwest.

wind loop
Gusty winds blow Friday as colder air moves through
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, via Pivotal Weather

High temperatures Friday will be a good 25 degrees colder than normal with some very late season cold air.

fri highs
High temperatures Friday
National Weather Service

The sharp cold front will create conditions conducive for potential snow squalls in northeastern Minnesota. These snow showers are convective in nature. Like a thunderstorm, they develop with instability and rapidly cooling aloft.

snow squalls
Possible snow squalls in northeast Minnesota Friday
National Weather Service

In northwestern Minnesota, the light snow will blow with 40 mph gusts as well. Totals will generally be light, but in some of those snow squalls a quick one-half inch is possible.

snowfall Fri
Snowfall Friday
College of DuPage Weather

Overnight Friday night into early Saturday we’ll see subzero temperatures for most of Minnesota. It’s the latest we’ve dropped below zero in a season in the Twin Cities since March 12, 2009.

Sat lows
Low temperatures early Saturday morning; likely the coldest of March for many
National Weather Service

The breeze will be enough to create wind chills in the teens below zero to near 30 below zero early Saturday morning.

chills Sat
Wind chills early Saturday morning
National Weather Service

High temperatures Saturday afternoon will already be near 30 in the south and 20 north, with increasing clouds in northern Minnesota.

sat highs
High temperatures Saturday
National Weather Service

Another clipper system moves in late Saturday bringing snowfall mainly to northern Minnesota by Saturday evening and overnight. Some places could see up to 1 or 2 inches of snow.

sat snowfall
Potential snowfall late Saturday into Saturday night
College of DuPage Weather

Warmup is near

Things really start to improve Sunday already. We’ll see highs in the 40s south and 30s north.

sun highs
High temperatures Sunday
National Weather Service

We don’t stop there, however. The entire upper-level pattern shifts to an overall warmer one all of next week, with our first 50 degree reading likely in the Twin Cities Tuesday and even a chance at 60 Wednesday afternoon.

highs Wed
High temperatures potentially by Wednesday
NOAA, via Pivotal Weather

Other than a possibility of rain-snow slush early Monday, most of next week looks fairly quiet as well.