Milder by Wednesday afternoon, a shot at 40 by Friday; the top weather events of 2018
We came oh so close to dipping below zero at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on New Year's Day.
The low temp was zero, so we still haven't seen an official sub-zero reading in the Twin Cities this winter.
We could come close to zero Tuesday night.
Low temps will be below zero across much of Minnesota this Tuesday night. Winds won't be real strong, but they're expected to be strong enough to drop wind chill temps to -25 or lower in much of western and northern Minnesota. Wind chill advisories run through Tuesday night and into early Wednesday in the blue-shaded areas:
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"Tonight" in the graphic title refers to the overnight hours of Tuesday night.
Details of the central Minnesota portion of the wind chill advisory:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN
150 PM CST Tue Jan 1 2019
...DANGEROUSLY COLD WIND CHILLS TONIGHT...
.A Wind Chill Advisory in effect for much of west central and
central Minnesota tonight and Wednesday morning, generally west
and north of a Granite Falls to St Cloud to Milaca line.
Wind chill readings are expected to drop to between 25 below and
35 below zero tonight into Wednesday morning. The dangerously
cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as
little as 10 minutes.
MNZ041>044-047>050-054>057-064-020400-
/O.NEW.KMPX.WC.Y.0001.190102T0000Z-190102T1500Z/
Douglas-Todd-Morrison-Mille Lacs-Stevens-Pope-Stearns-Benton-
Lac Qui Parle-Swift-Chippewa-Kandiyohi-Yellow Medicine-
Including the cities of Alexandria, Long Prairie, Little Falls,
Princeton, Morris, Glenwood, St Cloud, Foley, Madison, Benson,
Montevideo, Willmar, and Granite Falls
150 PM CST Tue Jan 1 2019
...WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 9 AM
CST WEDNESDAY...
* WHAT...Very cold wind chills expected. Wind chills as low as 25
below to 35 below zero expected.
* WHERE...Portions of central, east central and west central
Minnesota.
* WHEN...From 6 PM this evening to 9 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
Our average high temp is 24 degrees this time of year in the Twin Cities, and we're expected to reach the lower 20s Wednesday afternoon.
Wednesday highs should reach the 20s across most of western and southern Minnesota, with teens to the northeast:
Much milder air sweeps in for Thursday, with highs in the 30s:
Twin Cities metro area highs will probably reach the upper 30s to around 40 Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Snow chances
The best chance of occasional snow showers on Wednesday will be in about the northern half of Minnesota. The Twin Cities metro area could see a passing snow shower/snow flurry in the afternoon.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from Tuesday night through Wednesday afternoon:
The color chart to the bottom of the loop refers to the strength of the signal that returns to the radar, not to the amount of snow.
Warm December
Our average December temperature (the average of all the daily high temps and low temps) was 6.1 degrees warmer than normal at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport:
The snow total at MSP airport was 6.7 inches, which is 4.8 inches below our Twin Cities average December snow total of 11.5 inches.
Some impressive snowstorms hit parts of Minnesota. The heaviest snow from the snowstorm last Wednesday and Thursday missed the metro area, instead blanketing most of west-central Minnesota through northeastern Minnesota:
There was a snowstorm at the beginning of December that dropped heavy snow in southern Minnesota, while MSP airport saw just under 3 inches of snow:
Top five weather events of 2018
In case you missed this on my morning post...here it is again.
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:
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.
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
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!