Updraft

Many areas of the state reported lows this morning of -30 degrees F or colder, perhaps the coldest readings we’ll see this winter. NWS forecast guidance suggests a dramatic warm up this weekend as daytime highs rise into the 20s and 30s F, possibly even reaching 40 F. Is this remarkable? Not really. The historical…

We’re more than half way home. Meteorological winter consists of December through February. By that measure, January 15th was the mid-point. If winter was a week, it would be Wednesday night. The weekend is in sight, but we’ve still got more “work” to do. So far this has been a pretty “average” winter by most…

Despite the meager amount of new snowfall for most of Minnesota recently, have you noticed there is a crunch when you walk on even the thinnest coating of the powdery snow? The physical composition of fallen snow crystals, as frozen water droplets, layered upon each other, create tiny air pockets. When your foot pushes the…

Things are looking up on the weather maps for the next few days. After one more shot of Nanook arctic air for the next 36 hours, we begin to climb out of the deep freeze. It’s always interesting to evaluate the magnitude of warm Pacific air incursions in winter. The arctic air is shallower this…

This is starting to look very familiar. Six months ago portions of Minnesota were in the middle of a moderate to severe drought due to lack of spring and summer thunderstorms. We have started the New Year with a lack of snow and moisture across a large swath of central Minnesota. Through the first three…

A band of heavy snow set up over southeast Minnesota and Wisconsin near La Crosse today and will gradually end later this evening. Snow totals will top 6 inches and may approach 9 inches in isolated areas. Follow the progress below! La Crosse NWS PH

Congratulations! You’ve just survived what will probably be the coldest weekend of the year. Some interesting numbers from the weekend cold wave. Embarrass bottomed out at -36 Staurday, -32 Sunday. MSP Airport -14 Saturday, -15 Sunday. Lakeville and Hutchinson hit -20. Eden Prairie -19. MPR host Tom Crann and many others in the metro observed…

Yes, it’s Minnesota. Yeah, it gets this cold here. And, yeah we’re tough. But your skin doesn’t care what you attitude is when it comes to freezing in -40 wind chill. Here are some reminders about wind chill and how quickly your skin can freeze this weekend. Wind chill chart, calculator and explanation Wind chill…

As the cold artic air takes a grip on the region its interaction with Lake Superior will be interesting to watch. Lake surface waters range from 33 to 36 degrees F, so they will give up plenty of water vapor to the dry, overlying polar air. This will lead to some lake effect snows on…

I’m not talking about the match up between the Gophers and the Hoosiers. Breaking news more than a week ago allowed us to prepare for this smack of arctic air. You can talk about it for days, but experiencing it is a whole different story. International Falls, where the sign coming into town welcomes you…