Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Temperatures drop by 60 degrees up north this week

102 in Brainerd Sunday; 30s possible Thursday morning in parts of northern MN

Forecast low temperatures Thursday morning 2
Forecast low temperatures Thursday morning
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Now that’s a cold front.

Temperatures plunged more than 30 degrees in parts of Minnesota Wednesday compared with record highs that exceeded 100 degrees over the Labor Day weekend.

Brainerd hit 102 degrees Sunday afternoon, and usually chill Duluth hit 97 degrees. Both cities smashed previous record-high temperatures by 6 to 8 degrees.

The Twin Cities tied record highs two days in a row last weekend with highs of 97 and 98 degrees on Sunday and Labor Day.

Fast forward to the cold front that brought intense thunderstorms to northern Minnesota Tuesday evening. The storms were so potent the electric lightning show was impressive from space.

Check out this video from the International Space Station as it passed over storms in Wisconsin Tuesday night:

The storms produced some tree damage in the Iron Range and dropped 2 to nearly 4 inches of rainfall in some locations.

Rainfall totals
Rainfall totals across northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin
Duluth National Weather Service office

Chilly night ahead up north

Temperatures in northern Minnesota will drop into the 40s early Thursday morning behind the cold front. A few of the colder nooks and crannies like the town of Embarrass could dip into the upper 30s.

Highs will warm gradually for the rest of this week in Minnesota. Thursday brings another cool refreshing day.

Forecast high temperatures Thursday
Forecast high temperatures Thursday
NOAA

By Friday, the 80s will return to western Minnesota.

Forecast high temperatures Friday
Forecast high temperatures Friday
NOAA

There’s a chance of showers by Sunday, but overall little rainfall is in the forecast for the next week.