Break Out Your Snivel Gear For A Prolonged Cold Spell

Temperatures are plunging and winds are kicking up across Minnesota this weekend as we enter the longest cold spell we’ve seen in some time. The National Weather Service has issued wind chill advisories for most of the state.

“We’re not going to fully bottom out, most of Minnesota, until probably Sunday morning,” says climatologist Kenny Blumenfeld, “and then we’re just going to stay there.”

Temperatures on Sunday morning will fall into the 20s to 30s below zero in parts of northern Minnesota and the teens to 20s below zero in the southern half of the state. The Twin Cities will see temperatures somewhere in the teens below zero, according to Blumenfeld.

Wind chill values in the minus twenties to minus thirties will be common in much of the state, and parts of northern Minnesota may see minus forty-plus wind chills.

“There is a decent shot that this might be one of the most prolonged periods where we have wind chills below zero,” says Blumenfeld.

The cold wave will not likely break any records, says Blumenfeld, but its lengthy duration is noteworthy.

The good news? Even if the below normal cold persists into mid-month or beyond, the temperatures won’t quite have the same bite as they would earlier in winter, notes Blumenfeld.

“The light at the end of the tunnel is that it’s February and the Sun is pretty strong,” says Blumenfeld, “with sunlight levels getting comparable to late October.”