Sunday flake chance; very cold on Christmas Day
Now's the time to locate those warm hats, gloves and mittens.
Cold air is heading our way, and it will linger for several days.
Trending colder
Our Sunday highs will stay in the single digits in parts of far northern Minnesota, with a lot of teens elsewhere.
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Some spots in west-central and southwestern Minnesota might reach the lower 20s.
We could touch 20 in parts of the Twin Cities metro area Sunday afternoon, then we might have to wait quite a while for our next high temp in the 20s.
Christmas Day will be very cold:
Yes, those are Christmas Day highs in the teens below zero in parts of northwestern and north-central Minnesota!
The Twin Cities metro area could see a Christmas high temp of about 10 degrees at 1 a.m., but our high during the daylight hours of Christmas is expected to be in the low single digits.
Wind chill watch
It'll be breezy late Sunday night and on Christmas day, leading to very cold wind chills.
The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill watch from 3 a.m. to noon on Christmas Day for much of northern Minnesota:
NWS Duluth
Details of the northwestern Minnesota portion of the wind chill watch:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Grand Forks ND
401 AM CST Sun Dec 24 2017
MNZ001-002-004>009-013>017-022>024-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-026>030-
054-251800-
/O.CON.KFGF.WC.A.0001.171225T0900Z-171225T1800Z/
West Polk-Norman-Kittson-Roseau-Lake Of The Woods-West Marshall-
East Marshall-North Beltrami-Pennington-Red Lake-East Polk-
North Clearwater-South Beltrami-Mahnomen-South Clearwater-Hubbard-
Towner-Cavalier-Pembina-Benson-Ramsey-Eastern Walsh County-Eddy-
Nelson-Grand Forks-Griggs-Steele-Traill-Western Walsh County-
Including the cities of Crookston, East Grand Forks, Ada,
Twin Valley, Halstad, Hallock, Karlstad, Lancaster, Roseau,
Warroad, Greenbush, Baudette, Warren, Stephen, Argyle, Newfolden,
Middle River, Grygla, Red Lake, Redby, Ponemah,
Thief River Falls, Red Lake Falls, Fosston, Fertile, McIntosh,
Erskine, Bagley, Clearbrook, Bemidji, Mahnomen, Naytahwaush,
Waubun, Alida, Ebro, Lake Itasca, Long Lost Lake,
Lower Rice Lake, Roy Lake, Upper Rice Lake, Park Rapids, Cando,
Langdon, Cavalier, Walhalla, Drayton, Pembina, Neche, St. Thomas,
Fort Totten, Maddock, Leeds, Minnewaukan, Devils Lake, Grafton,
Park River, New Rockford, Lakota, Mcville, Aneta, Tolna,
Grand Forks, Cooperstown, Finley, Hope, Mayville, Hillsboro,
Hatton, Portland, Edinburg, Adams, and Lankin
401 AM CST Sun Dec 24 2017
...WIND CHILL WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH
MONDAY MORNING...
* WHAT...Dangerously cold wind chills possible. Dangerously cold
wind chills as low as 45 below zero will cause frostbite in as
little as 10 minutes to exposed skin. Wind chills could range
from 35 below zero to 45 below zero.
* WHERE...Portions of north central and northwest Minnesota and
northeast and southeast North Dakota.
* WHEN...From late Sunday night through Monday morning.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A Wind Chill Watch means there is the potential for a combination
of very cold air and the wind to create dangerously low wind
chill values. Monitor the latest forecasts and warnings for
updates on this situation.
Lingering cold
Cold air will linger over Minnesota throughout the coming week, with the coldest low temps Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning.
Lows in the 20s below zero are expected over much of northern Minnesota on Tuesday:
Similar low temps are on tap for Wednesday morning.
The Twin Cities metro area could see lows of 10 below zero or colder Tuesday and Wednesday morning.
Twin Cities metro area high temps are expected to be in the single digits above zero Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, but we could reach the lower teens on Thursday.
Snow chances
Periods of snow showers are possible this Sunday across northern and central Minnesota, with a few stray flurries to the south.
Sunday evening snow showers are possible in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential snow pattern Sunday afternoon through Christmas Day:
The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the strength of the signal that returns to the radar, not to the amount of snow.
Delayed warmup
Yesterday I wrote that the GFS forecast model was showing a return to highs in the 20s in the Twin Cities on January 3, with lower 30s possible on January 6.
We might have to wait a bit longer to see those milder temps, according to the latest run of NOAA's Global Forecast System model:
The GFS shows highs in the 20s on January 7, with some lower 30s possible on January 8.
That would feel downright warm after the cold temps of the next several days!
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.