Biting winds and blowing snow follow in the wake of record snowfall

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Wind-swept snow blasts the face of Phil Hillila as he snowblows his driveway Friday, Feb. 21 after a winter storm dropped over a foot of snow in Duluth, Minn. Derek Montgomery / For MPR News

The low pressure tracked as predicted.  Blustery conditions will continue this morning, but winds will slowly diminish as we work our way through the afternoon.

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Surface low from 6 a.m. CST. Image: College of Dupage

The wind forecast for 3 p.m. shows sustained winds still in the 15 to 2o miles per hour range.

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Winds gusted to near 50 mph at times during the overnight hours in south central Minnesota but have dropped to about 30 mph this morning.  The blizzard warning for south central Minnesota will expire at noon today. Travel with caution today.

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Snowfall image from the National Weather Service

A daily record of 8.8 inches of snow was reported at Rochester on Thursday. More snowfall amounts can be found at the National Weather Service website.

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Duluth tallied 1.23 inches of water in the 14 inches of snow that fell.   The 10.9 inches of snow that fell on Feb. 20 set a daily record at Duluth as well as the 1.06 inches of water content.

Arctic air is expected to continue its icy grip on the region through the rest of February.

Here's your morning lows expected on Sunday.

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Looking out into next week, the cold air sticks around with plenty of punch. Very cold temperatures are seen for Thursday morning of next week.

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Global Forecast System model forecast for 6 a.m CST Wednesday.

NOAA's Climate Prediction Center released the outlook for March yesterday.  As we say in the business, "the trend is your friend," unless you prefer milder temperatures.

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March temperature outlook.

The outlook for precipitation is for equal chances of above or below normal.  We'll see how this snow melt plays out and the spring flood potential enfolds as we move toward a thaw?  I'll let you know when I see that coming.

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The landscape looks lovely if you don't have to travel.

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Image:Craig Edwards