Record-breaking cold today; an update on our next snow
The coldest reading at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport this morning has been 12 below zero.
That's significant because our Twin Cities record low temperature for March 3 is 13 below zero. We're close.
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Update:
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We're likely to set at least one record today; for coldest March 3 Twin Cities high temp. All we have to do is max out shy of 6 degrees:
So there's that!
Temperature trends
Highs today will be in the single digits below zero in most of western Minnesota, and in the single digits above zero in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
Wind chills will be very cold over the next 24 hours or so:
The Twin Cities wind chill projection is the dark blue line that’s second from the top.
A wind chill warning continues until noon today in western Minnesota, for wind chills as low as -40. The warning becomes a wind chill advisory in western Minnesota this Sunday afternoon through noon Monday, for wind chills of -25 to -35. A wind chill advisory continues until noon today in eastern Minnesota (including the Twin Cities) plus western Wisconsin. The advisory resumes at 8 p.m. today and runs until 9 a.m. tomorrow.
The advisory/warning maps as of Sunday morning:
Wind chills in the -25 to -35 range can cause frostbite on exposed skin in 30 minutes or less.
As always, updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you’ll also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
You can check the latest forecasts from the NWS offices in the Twin Cities, Grand Forks, N.D., Sioux Falls, S.D., La Crosse, Wis., and Duluth.
Lows late Sunday night into early Monday will be well below zero again:
Monday high temps are expected to be in the single digits above zero:
That's way below our average March 4 Twin Cities high temperature of 35 degrees!
Temps recover a bit as we go through the week. Metro area highs reach the mid teens on Tuesday, followed by 20 on Wednesday, lower 20s Thursday and upper 20s on Friday. We could reach the lower 30s on Saturday.
Snow chances
Parts of northern Minnesota could see a passing flurry today. Some light snow showers are expected to move across Minnesota and western Wisconsin Monday into Monday evening.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential snow pattern Monday and Monday evening:
Our Monday light snow chance in the Twin Cities would tend to be mainly from about mid-afternoon into early evening.
We'll be watching the forecast models as we get closer to Saturday, since some models are showing accumulating snow or a rain/snow mix on Saturday.
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.