Wintry temperatures
Minnesotans know all about our wild March temperature swings.
It felt like the middle of April last Sunday over much of Minnesota, and the warm temps lingered into Monday over southern and central parts of our state.
We're overdue for some cooler temps, since 23 out of the 28 days in February were warmer than normal in the Twin Cities.
Today will feel like a typical early February day in much of Minnesota, with highs ranging from the upper teens in the far north to lower 30s in much of southern Minnesota.
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Hang on to those gloves and mittens, because even chillier air is on the way!
Frigid Friday
Friday will feel like a typical January day!
Friday morning lows will be below zero over northern and central Minnesota:
The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill advisory for northeastern and north-central Minnesota from Thursday evening into Friday morning:
Some details of the advisory:
257 AM CST Thu Mar 9 2017
...WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO 9 AM
CST FRIDAY...
The National Weather Service in Duluth has issued a Wind Chill
Advisory...which is in effect from 9 PM this evening to 9 AM CST
Friday.
* LOCATIONS...Much of northeast Minnesota, north of Minnesota
highway 210.
* WIND CHILL VALUES...As low as 34 below.
* WINDS...Northwest 5 to 10 mph.
* IMPACTS...The cold wind chills will cause frostbite in as
little as 30 minutes to exposed skin.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A Wind Chill Advisory means that very cold air and strong winds
will combine to generate low wind chills. This will result in
frost bite and lead to hypothermia if precautions are not taken.
If you must venture outdoors...make sure you wear a hat and
gloves.
Highs Friday will be in the teens over much of Minnesota with some 20s in the southeast:
Highs recover slightly on Saturday, but they'll still be well below normal:
In the Twin Cities metro area, we probably won't see temps return to the 40s until one week from today.
NOAA's Global Forecast System model shows Twin Cities metro area highs in the 40s and 50s from March 17 through March 25.
Snow chances
Southern Minnesota will see some snow showers today, and a passing flurry is possible in the Twin Cities metro area.
Periods of snow are possible over west-central, southwestern and south-central Minnesota Friday night into Saturday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential snow pattern:
The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the strength of the radar signal returning to the radar, not inches of snow!
Another Alberta Clipper could bring snow to southern and central Minnesota from late Sunday afternoon into Monday morning.
NOAA's Global Forecast System model shows the potential snowfall pattern:
The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the hourly precipitation rate, not inches of snow!
El Nino could return
NOAA's Climate Prediction Center has a new outlook that shows a 50% chance of El Nino conditions returning by the July-August-September period, and a slightly higher chance beyond:
El Nino conditions would favor warmer than normal temperatures in Minnesota.
Today's Climate Cast topic: Deep NOAA budget cuts ahead?
Capital Weather Gang’s Jason Samenow and his colleagues at the Washington Post broke the story of proposed deep cuts to NOAA.
MPR chief meteorologist Paul Huttner will talk with Jason, and Penn State professor and U.S. Navy retired Rear Adm. David Titley about how that may affect all of us Thursday at 3:30 p.m. and 6:20 p.m. on Climate Cast on MPR News stations.