Arctic chill lingers on Tuesday, then higher temps return; Wednesday snow update
Next week could be mild
When it’s this cold, you’d think that some cold temperature records would be broken. We came close on Monday.
Our Monday high of 18 degrees at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport tied the record for the coldest Nov. 11 high temperature ever recorded in the Twin Cities, which was set in 1986. That’s plenty cold; our average Twin Cities high is 44 degrees this time of year.
Temperature trends
Tuesday morning lows in the single digits are forecast for the Twin Cities metro area and most of southern Minnesota, while northern Minnesota dips below zero. Tuesday afternoon highs reach the lower 20s from west-central Minnesota into southern Minnesota, with teens elsewhere. Some spots in the metro area will peak at about 21 degrees.
Highs in the 30s return to the metro area and much of the southern half of Minnesota on Wednesday:
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Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the mid-30s Thursday and upper 30s on Friday. An early look at the weekend shows highs in the upper 30s to around 40.
The Nov. 19 through Nov. 25 temperature outlook from the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center points to warmer than normal temps in Minnesota and western Wisconsin:
We could still have a cool day during that stretch, but the average temp over that seven-day time span is trending warmer than normal.
Wednesday snow
We’ve seen this movie before. In late autumn and winter, cold weather is often followed by higher temperatures and some snowflakes.
Parts of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will see some periods of light snow on Wednesday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern Wednesday and Wednesday evening:
Snow amounts will tend to be light, but check forecast updates. Listen for updated weather information on the MPR network, and you’ll also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
Transit of Mercury
On Monday, Mercury passed between Earth and the sun. Here’s a replay:
Maybe you’d prefer a closeup: