Dangerous Cold, Snow As Arctic Air Hovers Over Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Minnesotans awoke Monday to dangerous subzero temperatures, wind chill values that could cause frostbite in minutes, and a coming winter storm.
An arctic front moved into the state over the weekend, bringing with it extreme cold and bone-chilling winds. The National Weather Service issued a wind chill warning for the northern half of the state, and a wind chill advisory for the southern half. It expired at noon.
A handful of schools in northern Minnesota were delayed or closed Monday due to the extreme cold.
At 6 a.m., temperatures in the Twin Cities hovered around 10 below, while the mercury in northern Minnesota read 16 below in Bemidji and 28 below in International Falls.
Monday's deep freeze was accompanied by light winds, creating wind chill factors of 25 below in the metro and 45 below in extreme northern Minnesota. Factors that cold can cause frostbite to exposed skin in 10 to 15 minutes.
Snow is also on the way.
Forecaster Kylie Bearse says 6 to perhaps 10 inches of snow could fall in the southwestern corner of the state, where a winter storm warning is in effect until midnight. The storm system will move in from the southwest during the afternoon, and by 6 p.m. the clouds will move over the metro. Residents in the Twin Cities, however, should only see a dusting to an inch of snow.
The highs Monday will struggle to make it out of the subzero depths, and no community is expected to reach 5 degrees.
The arctic air stick around through Wednesday, when the high is forecasted to be a bone-chilling 4 below. That'll be followed by a mild warm-up, and by Sunday temperatures will reach near 20 degrees.
