The Arctic is broken: Mild November north winds in Minnesota

These are not the maps they taught us to read in meteorology school.

A November cold front blew through Minnesota Monday. But instead of northwest winds and a cold November air mass blowing in, temperatures are still 10 to 15 degrees warmer than average behind the front. The average high in the Twin Cities today is 46 degrees. The average high in International Falls is 39 degrees. Post cold frontal temperatures today are in the 50s across Minnesota.

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NOAA via College of Dupage

Two Harbors along Lake Superior hit 61 degrees today! Downslope winds helped boost temps a few degrees along the North Shore again today.

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NOAA

No cold air upstream

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One look to the north tells us why there's a mild northwest wind today across Minnesota. Temperatures are running well above normal (and above freezing) all the way to near the Arctic Circle in the Northwest Territories.

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NOAA data via Lawerenceville Weather

Amazingly temperatures continue to run 10 to 20+ degrees warmer than average across North America, and almost the entire breadth of the Arctic.

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Climate Reaanalyzer

Where's the snow?

The lack of snow cover across North America is stunning for November 8th. Take a look at the map, there is little or no snow on the ground all the way north through west-central Canada. There are still open lakes and ice-free ocean all the way to the Arctic.

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NOAA: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Take a look at the snow cover departure from the Rutgers Global Snow Lab. You can see the (red) areas in southern Canada where there should be snow this time of year. Our northwest winds are blowing over ground that's usually snow covered in early November. Not this year. Bare ground allows the low November sun to warm the upstream air mass much more efficiently.

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Rutgers University

Arctic Sea ice running at record lows for Noevmber

Arctic Sea ice cover continues to run at record low levels this fall.

https://twitter.com/NSIDC/status/793935301739565056

So if you're wondering why a northwest wind feels so mild across Minnesota today, it's because the Arctic lacks sufficient levels of cold air to deliver typical November air masses to Minnesota.

In short, the Arctic is broken right now.