Updraft: January 2, 2012 Archive

Minnesota winter-like temperatures today will not stay

Posted at 4:01 PM on January 2, 2012 by Craig Edwards
Filed under: Cold, Winter 2011-12

I think it is time for a little reminder about the normal temperatures this time of year in MInnesota. The thirty year average places the range of the highs from around 14 in the north to 25 in the south. Lows are typically below zero in the Arrowhead and single digits around the Twin Cities.

If we drop to ten degrees by midnight, today will be the first day since December 10th where the daily temperature falls short of average in the Twin Cities. Expect winds to be nearly calm and temperatures to dive this evening over eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Teens below zero are in the offing for northeast Minnesota.

Overnight, a push of milder air over the very sparse snowcover in Dakotas will likely hold temperatures steady after 2am in western Minnesota. Southwest winds are expected to increase later tonight from Fergus Falls to Montevideo.

Here's the outlook map from the Climate Prediction that was issued last week for the middle of this week. Remember the large swatch of the Continental USA favored with above normal temperatures?

Now here's a look at the national temperature map for Thursday morning. Recall the normal low in the Twin Cities is eight degrees. We may be closer to 28 degrees.

An intrusion of cooler air arrives for the upcoming weekend. Although the maximum temperature of 25 predicted for Sunday in the Twin Cities will be slightly better than posted thirty year average high of 23.

I captured this visible satellite image from mid day that depicts the snow cover. The river valleys and larger lakes stand out nicely. The Superior National Forecast mutes the four to six inch snow depth in the Arrowhead Region.

Have friends in Florida? They'll be looking at a low around freezing in Daytona on Tuesday morning and perhaps a couple degrees cooler on Wednesday morning.

How about this outlook from the CPC for early next week? I'll let Paul Huttner try and track down a snowstorm in our neck of the weeks.

CE