Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Colder Thursday; a shot at 40 degrees next week

A bonus January thaw looks likely next week

NOAA 6 to 10-day temperature outlook
Six to 10-day temperature outlook
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Ups and downs. Strikes and gutters.

That’s the way of the world when it comes to Minnesota winters. In our current context, we’ll ride a bit of a temperature roller coaster again over the next week.

A cold front dropping south through Minnesota into Thursday reminds us of a few enduring winter truths. We live at 45 degrees north latitude, near the geographic center of North America, and it’s still January.

Temperatures will fall to around zero in the south early Thursday.

Forecast low temperatures Thursday morning
Forecast low temperatures Thursday morning
NOAA

Highs Thursday afternoon will hover in the single digits above zero north, to about 10 in the south.

Forecast high temperatures Thursday
Forecast high temperatures Thursday
NOAA

More seasonable winter air returns Friday through Sunday with highs mainly back into the 20s.

Forecast high temperatures Saturday
Forecast high temperatures Saturday
NOAA

January thaw again next week

It’s nice to get these little mild breaks from a January that’s running a good 4 degrees colder than normal. Forecast models still crank out highs in the 30s to possibly low 40s from the Twin Cities southward next Monday through Wednesday.

NOAA GFS temperature output
Global Forecast System temperature output between Monday and Wednesday afternoon
NOAA, via Tropical Tidbits

Colder air is likely to return later next week. The medium-range forecast maps suggest we’ll bounce between colder arctic swipes and occasional mild spells as we move into February.

There is some hint of increased snowfall next month.

NOAA 8 to 14-day precipitation outlook
Eight to 14-day precipitation outlook
NOAA

But the bar is low after this dry Janaury.

Stay tuned.