After a chilly Tuesday an unusually long stretch of mild weather develops
A relatively minor system Friday is the only chance of precipitation
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December so far looks an awful lot like a typical El Niño set up. We have one chilly day Tuesday and then it’s back to prolonged warmth. Friday brings the only chance of measurable precipitation.
Brief chill Tuesday into Tuesday night
Tuesday will be our one day slightly below normal in the days ahead. Highs will be in the teens and 20s.
Wind chills are starting in the single digits and subzero and will remain cold through the day. While high temperatures will reach the teens and 20s, wind chill values Tuesday afternoon will remain cold.
We’ll also see sunshine for most. Clouds will linger across northern Minnesota with flurries in the northeast.
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Tuesday night will yield one more cold night before yet another warm up commences. Lows will be in the single digits and teens.
More mild air ahead as El Niño sets in
The December pattern so far looks a lot like a typical El Niño pattern, perhaps not surprisingly as we’re in a strong El Niño episode.
Below is a diagram of a typical El Niño winter pattern on the left and on the right with recent temperature and precipitation anomalies.
Temperatures will start to warm back up quickly Wednesday after a chill start early on. Highs will be back well into the 30s across southern Minnesota with some low 40s southwest.
Thursday will be even warmer with highs well into the 40s to even near 50 in southwestern Minnesota.
We remain well above normal for the foreseeable future, making the warmup not only unusual in terms of high temperatures but also duration.
