Arctic chill continues Thursday, but with lighter winds; weekend warmup!

Our low temperature of 28 degrees below zero at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Wednesday morning was two degrees shy of tying the record low. We'll have a good shot at the Jan. 31 Twin Cities record low of 27 below.

It was very cold when the National Weather Service office in Chanhassen, Minn., performed their Wednesday morning balloon launch:

Balloons are launched twice daily from Chanhassen and hundreds of other spots around the world. The weather data that's gathered is radioed down to a receiver and used in forecast models.

Rare wind chills

Park Rapids reported a wind chill of minus 65 Wednesday morning, Flag Island in Minnesota's Northwest Angle saw a wind chill of minus 64. The lowest wind chill at the Twin Cities airport on Wednesday was minus 53, but it was minus 55 at 11 p.m. on Tuesday.

Based on Twin Cities wind chill data provided by the Minnesota State Climatology Office, I found only nine days with official wind chills colder than 55 below zero:

• -67 January 22, 1936

• -63 January 1, 1924

• -61 January 13, 1916

• -59 January 5, 1912

• -59 February 9, 1933

• -57 January 10, 1982

• -56 January 12, 1916

• -56 December 24, 1983

• -56 January 19, 1985

All values have been converted to the new wind chill formula that's been in use since 2001.

The National Weather Service has compiled a list of the coldest wind chills in central and southern Minnesota Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. Here are a few:

Here are some low temps:

I should mention that Redwood Falls, Minn., reported a record low of 29 below Wednesday morning.  Lakefield, in southwestern Minnesota, reported a record low of minus 31.

Overnight and Thursday

Winds will be much lighter Wednesday night and Thursday, but there will be enough wind to keep a wind chill warning overnight into early Thursday for western Wisconsin and all of Minnesota except the far southwest. Wind chills in the minus 35 to 45 range are expected. Low temps early Thursday should drop into 30s below for most of Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin, with some minus 20s in parts of southern Minnesota. Our Thursday low temp could approach 30 below in the Twin Cities.

Thursday highs will be in the single digits below zero in many spots, slightly above zero southwest:

Temperature trends

Our average high this time of year is 25 degrees in the Twin Cities metro area.

Parts of southern and western Minnesota creep into the lower 20s late Friday afternoon:

Above-freezing highs are on tap for southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro area Saturday afternoon:

Southeastern Minnesota and the metro area could top out in the 40s on Sunday:

What a change from our current arctic chill!

Snow chances

As the coldest air exits to the east, there will probably be enough moisture for some light snow, especially Thursday afternoon and Thursday night.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential snow pattern for Thursday and Thursday evening:

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.

You can check the latest forecasts and warnings from the NWS offices in the Twin Cities, Grand Forks, N.D., Sioux Falls, S.D., La Crosse, Wis and Duluth.

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.