After A Mild Start To January, Cold Temps To Return This Week

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Enjoying the unusually warm January weather? Well, temperatures are about to swing back to normal.

Meteorologist Matt Brickman says that following a mild start to the workweek, a cold front will move in Tuesday, dropping temperatures to what's generally average for this time of year (highs in the low 20s, lows in the teens and single digits).

But there's also a chance we break a record this week for the latest subzero January temperature reading in the Twin Cities.

Generally, the Twin Cities will see temps dip below zero at least once in the first two weeks of January. Indeed, there's only been five times in the 148 years since record-keeping began in which subzero temperatures were documented later than Jan. 11.

The latest January subzero temperature on record is Jan. 18. That was set in 2002 and matched in 2012.

Now, it looks like that record will be broken this weekend. Brickman says the first subzero day in the Twin Cities looks to come on Saturday (Jan. 19) or Sunday (Jan. 20).

He says the mild January trend is consistent with climate change, as four of the 10 latest subzero recordings have happened since 2001.