Arctic plunge; weekend recovery
Sunrise at Duluth harbor had a wintry beauty today.
The webcam at the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center captured the scene:
The air temperature was 8 below zero, and you can see an icy steam rising from the water in the canal.
Temperatures are cold today all across Minnesota, but this arctic plunge won't last very long.
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It won't be anything like that long stretch of very cold temps in December!
Highs Thursday will barely make it into the double digits over southern Minnesota, with single digits to the north.
Lows Thursday night will be in the teens below zero in southern Minnesota, with mostly 20s below zero in the north:
Some spots in northern Minnesota will be in the 30s below zero early Friday morning.
Highs tomorrow will be in the single digits in most areas:
Windy north
Northern Minnesota will have gusty winds today, and blowing snow will be a problem in northwestern Minnesota.
A winter weather advisory is in effect until 3 p.m. for northwestern Minnesota:
Some details of the advisory:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
629 AM CST THU JAN 12 2017
MNZ001>003-005-007-008-013>015-NDZ027-029-030-038-039-122100-
/O.EXP.KFGF.WC.Y.0005.000000T0000Z-170112T1200Z/
/O.CON.KFGF.WW.Y.0002.000000T0000Z-170112T2100Z/
WEST POLK-NORMAN-CLAY-ROSEAU-WEST MARSHALL-EAST MARSHALL-
PENNINGTON-RED LAKE-EAST POLK-GRAND FORKS-STEELE-TRAILL-BARNES-
CASS-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...CROOKSTON...EAST GRAND FORKS...ADA...
TWIN VALLEY...HALSTAD...MOORHEAD...ROSEAU...WARROAD...GREENBUSH...
WARREN...STEPHEN...ARGYLE...NEWFOLDEN...MIDDLE RIVER...GRYGLA...
THIEF RIVER FALLS...RED LAKE FALLS...FOSSTON...FERTILE...
MCINTOSH...ERSKINE...GRAND FORKS...FINLEY...HOPE...MAYVILLE...
HILLSBORO...HATTON...PORTLAND...VALLEY CITY...FARGO
629 AM CST THU JAN 12 2017
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM CST THIS
AFTERNOON...
...WIND CHILL ADVISORY HAS EXPIRED...
* TIMING...THROUGH MID AFTERNOON.
* WINDS / VISIBILITIES...WINDS GUSTING AS HIGH AS 45 MPH WILL
CAUSE AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW...ESPECIALLY IN OPEN
AREAS. PLAN ON AREAS OF POOR VISIBILITIES AND SLICK ROADWAYS TO
CREATE DIFFICULT DRIVING CONDITIONS AT TIMES.
* WIND CHILL VALUES...EXPECT WIND CHILLS TO RANGE FROM 25 BELOW
ZERO TO 35 BELOW ZERO UNTIL 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON.
* IMPACTS... THE COLD WIND CHILLS WILL CAUSE FROSTBITE IN AS
LITTLE AS 30 MINUTES TO EXPOSED SKIN.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR BLOWING SNOW MEANS PERIODS OF
BLOWING SNOW WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE
PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND
USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING. THE LATEST ROAD CONDITIONS FOR THE
STATE YOU ARE CALLING FROM CAN BE OBTAINED BY CALLING 5 1 1.
A wind chill advisory continues until noon for the remainder of northern Minnesota:
Lighter winds are on tap for tomorrow.
Warmer weather in sight
Highs in the teens will be common on Saturday.
We'll see some 20s on Sunday:
Upper 20s to lower 30s are expected on Monday.
The six- to 10-day outlook from that National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center shows a high probability of above normal temperatures from Tuesday Jan. 17 to Saturday Jan. 21:
Mild temperatures could continue through Wednesday January 25, according to NOAA's Global Forecast system model:
Highest temps for each 12 hour period are in the red box.
Temps dip a bit on Friday Jan. 27.
Plenty of snow
The latest snow depth map from the National Weather Service shows ample snow amounts over most of the Upper Midwest:
The green shaded areas in North Dakota and parts of northern Minnesota indicate more than two feet of snow on the ground.
No big snow events are expected today or tonight, but some light snow is possible over southern Minnesota late Friday.
We can give our snowblowers and shoveling muscles a well deserved rest!