Arctic cold temps linger through Monday, along with very cold wind chills

December 2023 was the warmest December in Twin Cities weather records. The first ten days of January were also unusually warm.

Now it really feels like January in the Twin Cities and across all of Minnesota. Much of eastern Minnesota will have Saturday afternoon temps in the single digits above zero, with below-zero temps across much of western Minnesota. We’ll also see some light snow at times.

Gusty northwesterly winds will be with us all weekend.

Advisories and warnings

A blizzard warning continues today in southwestern Minnesota, with a winter weather advisory from west-central through south-central Minnesota:

Here are details of the blizzard warning:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD 207 AM CST Sat Jan 13 2024 IAZ001-MNZ071-072-080-097-098-SDZ038>040-050-052>070-131615- /O.CON.KFSD.BZ.W.0001.000000T0000Z-240114T0600Z/ /O.CON.KFSD.WC.W.0001.000000T0000Z-240116T1800Z/ Lyon-Lincoln-Murray-Pipestone-Rock-Beadle-Kingsbury-Brookings- Gregory-Jerauld-Sanborn-Miner-Lake-Moody-Brule-Aurora-Davison- Hanson-McCook-Minnehaha-Charles Mix-Douglas-Hutchinson-Turner- Bon Homme-Yankton-Clay- 207 AM CST Sat Jan 13 2024 ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT... ...WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST TUESDAY... * WHAT...For the Wind Chill Warning, dangerously cold wind chills. Wind chills as low as 45 below zero. For the Blizzard Warning, blizzard conditions expected. Total snow accumulations of up to one inch. Winds gusting as high as 45 mph. * WHERE...Portions of northwest Iowa, southwest Minnesota and central, east central, south central and southeast South Dakota. * WHEN...For the Wind Chill Warning, until noon CST Tuesday. For the Blizzard Warning, from midnight tonight to midnight CST Saturday night. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches. The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Travel should be restricted to emergencies only. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. Avoid outside activities if possible. When outside, make sure you wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1.

The counties in the blizzard warning also have a wind chill warning that continues into Tuesday.

Here are details of the winter weather advisory in west-central Minnesota, where there is also a wind chill warning today into Monday:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Aberdeen SD 1039 AM CST Sat Jan 13 2024 MNZ039-046-SDZ007-008-011-019>023-140300- /O.CON.KABR.WC.W.0001.000000T0000Z-240115T1800Z/ /O.CON.KABR.WW.Y.0003.000000T0000Z-240114T0600Z/ Traverse-Big Stone-Marshall-Roberts-Day-Clark-Codington-Grant- Hamlin-Deuel- Including the cities of Wheaton, Ortonville, Britton, Sisseton, Webster, Clark, Watertown, Milbank, Hayti, and Clear Lake 1039 AM CST Sat Jan 13 2024 ...WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST MONDAY... ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT... * WHAT...For the Wind Chill Warning, dangerously cold wind chills. Wind chills as low as 55 below zero. For the Winter Weather Advisory, snow and blowing snow. Additional snow accumulations of up to one inch. Winds gusting as high as 45 mph. * WHERE...Portions of west central Minnesota and northeast South Dakota. * WHEN...For the Wind Chill Warning, until noon CST Monday. For the Winter Weather Advisory, until midnight CST tonight. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning commute. The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 5 minutes. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Avoid outside activities if possible. When outside, make sure you wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves. Slow down and use caution while traveling. In Minnesota, the latest road conditions can be obtained at 511mn.org, or by calling 5 1 1. In South Dakota, the latest road conditions can be obtained by calling 5 1 1.

A winter weather advisory continues until 9 p.m. today from Mankato to Albert Lea, for light snow and blowing snow.

Several Minnesota counties in northwestern Minnesota and northeastern North Dakota are in a blizzard warning until 6 p.m. Saturday:

Here are details of the blizzard warning:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 910 AM CST Sat Jan 13 2024 MNZ001-002-007-NDZ008-016-027-030-140000- /O.CON.KFGF.BZ.W.0002.000000T0000Z-240114T0000Z/ West Polk-Norman-West Marshall-Pembina-Eastern Walsh-Grand Forks- Traill- Including the cities of Crookston, East Grand Forks, Ada, Hadler, Faith, Flaming, Syre, Twin Valley, Halstad, Radium, Warren, Englund, Florian, Stephen, Argyle, Akra, Backoo, Cavalier, Leroy, Walhalla, Bowesmont, Drayton, Grafton, Nash, Oakwood, Park River, Grand Forks, Mayville, Hillsboro, Kelso, Hatton, Portland, and Roseville 910 AM CST Sat Jan 13 2024 ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Whiteout conditions are expected in open country. Additional snow accumulations of up to one inch. Winds gusting as high as 40 mph. * WHERE...Portions of the central and northern Red River Valley. * WHEN...Until 6 PM CST this evening. * IMPACTS...Widespread blowing snow will significantly reduce the visibility. Worst conditions will be in open country. The dangerously cold wind chills as low as 35 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Conditions in sheltered areas and cities may be considerably better. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Travel should be restricted to emergencies only. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. The latest road conditions for North Dakota can be found at travel.dot.nd.gov and for Minnesota at 511mn.org, or by calling 5 1 1 in either state.

Portions of northern Wisconsin will see heavy snow today:

Winter storm warnings have been posted for areas where the heaviest snow is expected:

You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network. 

Updated forecast information will be posted by the National Weather Service offices in the Twin Cities, Duluth, La Crosse, Wis., Sioux Falls, S.D. and Grand Forks, N.D..

Minnesota road conditions can be found here. Wisconsin road conditions can be found here.

Snow totals

The highest Twin Cities metro area snow total that I’ve seen (for Friday into Saturday morning) was 1.8 inches in Woodbury. I tallied 1.4 inches in St. Paul. The total at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was just 6/10th of an inch through midnight Friday night, with some snow observed there after midnight and this morning. We’ll see their final total later today.

There were several reports of 6 inches of new snow near Rochester, Minnesota. Kasson, in Dodge County and Winona, in Winona County, reported 7 inches of new snow.

Several spots in southern and eastern Wisconsin tallied double-digit snow totals:

Cold temps and wind chills

Many spots in Minnesota saw their Saturday high temperature at around 1 a.m. Saturday. Many locations will stay in the single digits through Saturday afternoon. Western Minnesota will have subzero temps through much of Saturday.

Wind chill temps will be coldest in western Minnesota this weekend:

Wind chill warnings cover portions of western Minnesota today, with some wind chill advisories elsewhere:

Wind chills of colder than 35 below zero are expected in the wind chill warning area, and some spots in southwestern Minnesota will see wind chills of 50 below zero or colder. Wind chill readings of -25 to -35 are expected in the wind chill advisory areas.

Wind chill advisories or wind chill warnings cover many areas Saturday evening through Sunday morning:

The wind chill advisory in the Twin Cities metro area begins at 9 p.m. Saturday and continues until noon on Sunday.

Dry Sunday

After patchy light snow on Saturday, Sunday is looking dry. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 6 a.m. Sunday to 9 p.m. Sunday:

Temperature trends

Low temperatures early Sunday will be in the teens below zero in western and northern Minnesota with single-digits above zero elsewhere:

Sunday highs will be a few degrees below zero in most areas:

Monday highs will also be a few degrees below zero in most areas:

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be around 7 above zero on Tuesday, followed by highs in the mid teens on Wednesday. Twin Cities highs retreat to around 10 degrees on Thursday and 8 degrees on Friday.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.