Excessive heat watch in effect through Sunday

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The coldest air mass in about two years blows into Minnesota this weekend. 

The cold weather bar was low during Minnesota's warmest winter on record last year — the Twin Cities only managed to make it to minus 8 degrees Jan. 14-15. 

The last time we felt cold comparable to what we’ll see in the coming days was Feb. 3, 2023, when the temperature bottomed out at 13 degrees below zero.

Our inbound air mass was sitting over Siberia a week ago. It is blowing into Minnesota from the Arctic Circle region. 

On the map below, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 

 shows the trajectory of our extreme inbound air mass.

Our January thaw gave us one last mild day Friday across central and southern Minnesota. I saw 43 degrees Friday at Madison in western Minnesota. 

The Twin Cities has topped out at 38 degrees as of this post:

Temperatures are already falling through the teens in northwestern Minnesota:

Saturday will feel increasingly arctic across our region. Highs will hover several degrees on either side of zero across Minnesota on Saturday. 

The core of the coldest air arrives Sunday through Tuesday. 

Lows will bottom out between minus 10 and minus 15 degrees in the Twin Cities on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday mornings. Tuesday will likely be the coldest morning across Minnesota:

This brand of extreme cold comes with little snow cover. That means little insulation to protect underground pipes from the cold. 

That’s why the National Weather Service highlights the possibility of frozen pipes as one element of this bitter cold snap. 

 are up for much of northern and central Minnesota:

Temperatures will fall below zero around 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday night in the Twin Cities. It’s likely we’ll see subzero highs Sunday into most of Tuesday, so we’ll likely see between 60 and 72 straight subzero hours in the Twin Cities and most of Minnesota.

In case you’re wondering, that’s not even close to a record subzero streak in Minnesota. The Twin Cities has seen at least four straight subzero days 28 times. 

Our last four-day subzero run was in February 2021, so about four years ago. This bitter cold snap won’t even crack the top 10 for subzero streaks. 

 from the Minnesota State Climatology Office:

Temperatures will moderate starting next Wednesday with highs back around 20 degrees in the Twin Cities.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

A dangerously cold air mass from the Arctic Circle blows into Minnesota this weekend. Low temperatures will bottom out between minus 10 and minus 15 in the Twin Cities on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday mornings.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOAA

NOAA/FAA

Oklahoma Mesonet

Forecast low temperatures Tuesday morning

Siberian express: Coldest air in about 2 years blowing into Minnesota

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