A cold start to the New Year, but a warmup is in sight; top weather events of 2018

Happy New Year!

Arctic chill will be with us this New Year's Day.

Our Tuesday afternoon highs will range from the single digits below zero in northwestern Minnesota to the lower teens in the far southeast.

Wind chill temps will be dangerously cold this New Year's Day morning in western and northern Minnesota. Wind chill warnings continue until noon this Tuesday in northwestern, north-central and west-central Minnesota:

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NWS Twin Cities

Details of the wind chill warning, from the Grand Forks, North Dakota office of the National Weather Service:

330 AM CST Tue Jan 1 2019

...WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST TODAY...

* WHAT...Dangerously cold wind chills. Wind chills as low as 45

below zero.

* WHERE...Portions of northwest and west central Minnesota and

eastern North Dakota.

* WHEN...Until noon CST Tuesday.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The dangerously cold wind chills could

cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Wind Chill Warning means the combination of very cold air and

the wind will create dangerously low wind chill values. Frostbite

can occur quickly and even hypothermia or death if precautions

are not taken.

There’s a wind chill advisory until noon this Tuesday from southwestern Minnesota up through St. Cloud and into northeastern Minnesota:

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NWS Duluth

Details of the northeastern Minnesota portion of the advisory:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Duluth MN

637 AM CST Tue Jan 1 2019

...DANGEROUSLY COLD WIND CHILLS ACROSS NORTHEAST MINNESOTA

THIS MORNING...

.Bitterly cold temperatures combined with north winds around 10

to 15 mph will lead to dangerously cold wind chill values across

northeast Minnesota. Be sure to cover all exposed skin. At these

wind chill values frostbite is possible in as little as ten

minutes.

MNZ012-019>021-034>037-011800-

/O.CON.KDLH.WC.Y.0021.000000T0000Z-190101T1800Z/

Northern Cook and Lake-Central St. Louis-Southern Lake-

Southern Cook-Crow Wing-Northern Aitkin-South Aitkin-

Carlton and South St. Louis-

Including the cities of Isabella, Hibbing, Two Harbors,

Silver Bay, Grand Marais, Brainerd, Hill City, Aitkin, and Duluth

637 AM CST Tue Jan 1 2019

...WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST TODAY...

* WHAT...Very cold wind chills. Wind chills as low as 35 below

zero.

* WHERE...Central St. Louis, Crow Wing, Northern Cook and Lake,

Northern Aitkin, South Aitkin, Southern Cook, Southern Lake

and Carlton and South St. Louis Counties.

* WHEN...Until noon CST today.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The dangerously cold wind chills could

cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Wind Chill Advisory is issued when the combination of wind and

cold air create very cold wind chills. Frostbite and hypothermia,

which can lead to death, can occur if steps are not taken to

protect yourself. Cover up. Dress warmly and in layers. Travel

with extra blankets or additional clothing in case of vehicle

trouble.

There isn't a wind chill advisory for the Twin Cities metro area, but metro wind chills are expected to remain below zero through Tuesday afternoon.

______________________________________________________

Midday update

The NWS has issued a wind chill advisory for northwestern Minnesota and parts of north-central and west-central Minnesota that runs through Tuesday afternoon and evening and overnight Tuesday night:

rt101chill7
NWS Grand Forks, ND

Details of the advisory, from the Grand Forks office of the NWS:

...WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST WEDNESDAY...

...WIND CHILL WARNING IS CANCELLED...

* WHAT...Very cold wind chills. Wind chills as low as 35 below

zero.

* WHERE...Portions of central, north central, northwest and west

central Minnesota and northeast and southeast North Dakota.

* WHEN...Until 6 AM CST Wednesday.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The dangerously cold wind chills could

cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Wind Chill Advisory means that cold air and the wind will

combine to create low wind chills. Frostbite and hypothermia can

occur if precautions are not taken. Make sure you wear a hat and

gloves.

______________________________________________________

As always, updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you will also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

Temperature trends

Wednesday afternoon high temps are expected to reach the 20s in most of western and southern Minnesota, with teens elsewhere:

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Thursday highs reach the 30s in most of Minnesota:

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Twin Cities metro area highs will probably reach the upper 30s on Friday and Saturday, followed by middle 30s on Sunday.

Snow chances

Northwestern Minnesota could see some snow showers Tuesday night, and the northern half of Minnesota will have a chance of snow showers on Wednesday. It looks like the Twin Cities metro area could see a few flurries Wednesday afternoon.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning:

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NOAA NAM simulated radar from Tuesday evening through Wednesday afternoon, via College of DuPage

The color chart to the botton of the loop refers to the strength of the signal that returns to the radar, not to the amount of snow.

Top five weather events of 2018

Do you remember the snowstorm of April 14, 2018?

It made a big impression on most of us!

The Minnesota State Climatology Office has released the results of voting for the Top Five Weather Events of 2018 in Minnesota.

According to the Climatology Office:

Votes were cast from various weather enthusiasts including the National Weather Service, the University of Minnesota, State agencies and Facebook followers.

The results of the voting, and the Climatology Office narratives:

#1 April 14 Thunder Blizzard.

Had it not been for this storm, the most memorable April weather event may have been the nine inches of snow that fell on April 2-3 in the Twin Cities. Then on April 14, one of the more memorable snowstorms and blizzards in recent memory struck southern Minnesota. For the first time since the 1991 Halloween storm, Blizzard warnings were posted for the entire Twin Cities. The Twin Cities International Airport was closed for seven hours. While there was no Metrodome to collapse anymore, the 77 foot high dome of the Vadnais Sports center collapsed. The 15.8 inches of snow at the Twin Cities International Airport was the most snowfall to occur so late in the season.

#2 (tie) Tornado Outbreak: September 20, 2018.

This event on September 20 that saw the third highest daily tornado count in Minnesota history with 25 tornadoes. One of the strongest tornadoes hit the Faribault Airport. 80 planes were damaged or destroyed. Damage from the tornadoes could still be seen in Cannon Falls three months later.

#2 (tie) 100 Degrees on Memorial Day: 2018

On May 28, 2018 the mercury reached 100 degrees at the Twin Cities International Airport. This is the earliest reading of 100 degrees at the official Twin Cities reporting site since records began in 1871. It was also 96 degrees for a maximum temperature at St. Cloud and 95 at Rochester. The National Weather Service issued an Excessive Heat Warning for Hennepin and Ramsey Counties.

#4 New All-time State Precipitation Record Set.

At first it appeared as though Caledonia would set the Minnesota all-time annual precipitation record. At the end of 2018, Caledonia in Houston County easily broke the 2016 Waseca total of 56.24 inches with 57.97 inches. However, upon further review, Harmony in Fillmore County was at 57.27 inches through the end of November. Harmony submits their precipitation data via paper and the final total will be reviewed sometime in early 2019.

#5 Gloomy Autumn: 2018

Sunshine was sparse this fall in Minnesota and in the Twin Cities, with the 4th gloomiest autumn on record back to 1963. To add to the gloomy conditions, October and November were also cold with lake ice freeze-up about ten days ahead of the median.

Honorable mention was given to the following events:

Honorable Mention #1

From Ice to Nice. Late Ice Out but Early Swim Season: May 2018

Looking at the landscape across the state on May 1, there would have been a view of many lakes with lingering ice on them. By Memorial Day, scores of people would be swimming in those same lakes. White Bear Lake had its latest ice out (May 4) and Minnetonka tied the latest ice out record (May 5). Then with the hot May 22-29th spell, lake water warmed up rapidly. May 2018 also wound up being the second warmest May on record in the Twin Cities.

Honorable Mention #2

Smoky Skies: Summer 2018.

2018 was a wet and warm summer, but perhaps one of the defining characteristics was the persistent smoky haze that wafted in and out of the state. The thickest of which reduced visibility and depressed the maximum temperature at times. The weekend of August 10-11 was one of the more persistent episodes. The smoke originated mostly from fires in Canada and was not from California.

Honorable Mention #3

Warm Summer and Growing Season 2018.

The Twin Cities finished with the 15th warmest summer (June-August) on record (1871-2018). This was mainly driven due to the warm overnight minimum temperatures (second place behind 2010). The maximum average temperature finished 26th. The May-September growing season was the 3rd warmest on record across Minnesota, and low temperatures during that time were the warmest on record.

We'll see what 2019 brings!