Winters in Minneapolis (Rochester, Virginia: home, live, vs.)

[mw73]

I am moving from Charlotte, NC to Minneapolis this upcoming Friday. As a Charlottean, typical winters are more like high 40's during the day. How cold does it get in MSP and is it true the windchill factors can dip in the minus degrees?

[kooks35]

Originally Posted by mw73

I am moving from Charlotte, NC to Minneapolis this upcoming Friday. As a Charlottean, typical winters are more like high 40's during the day. How cold does it get in MSP and is it true the windchill factors can dip in the minus degrees?

The standard temperature (without windchill) will dip into the minus degrees a few times in the winter.

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by mw73

I am moving from Charlotte, NC to Minneapolis this upcoming Friday. As a Charlottean, typical winters are more like high 40's during the day. How cold does it get in MSP and is it true the windchill factors can dip in the minus degrees?

The bad news is that it doesn't even take a 10mph wind at +10 F to drive the wind chill below 0 and... the avg low temp in Minneapolis drops below +10 F on December 26th and stays below 10 for the next 41 days.

The good news is that Minnesota is the 3rd fastest warming state, and is warming at the rate of .62 degrees per decade since 1970. So we got that going for us, which is nice.

I believe that 0 F is equivalent to something like 250 degrees Kelvin if that makes it any better.

[Laggard]

Well the average January high temp is 24 and the low 7.

[mkdude_08]

My contention is that as long as you wear something to cover your ears, gloves, a scarf, and have warm shoes you'll be fine. It's not like you'll be outside attending a picnic in winter!

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

The averages between the two places is NOT as different as I had expected.....forty-something vs. twenty-something!

[aus1ander]

Originally Posted by Min-Chi-Cbus

The averages between the two places is NOT as different as I had expected.....forty-something vs. twenty-something!

Thats true if you only look at the high temperatures. Most of us go to work well before the temperature rises to its daytime peak, so what you feel is considerably colder, especially when factoring in windchill. I know there were plenty of winter days in Rochester when I went to work at 7am with the car saying it was -20 out. By the time it was lunchtime, it was near 0, which which felt a lot better than -20!

[rtloucks]

I have lived in both places...
I grew up in MN until I was 27, (Minneapolis and Rochester) And then I lived in Charlotte for two years including 2009 winter when we actually got a decent snowfall and an ice storm .

Let me say this without trying to discourage you. The MN winters are severely deifferent than teh Charlotte Winters.

Minnesota Winter Summary:
Average temps in the teens to be expected with some nice sunny days hitting the 30's
Many many many days and especially nights/mornings with below zero temps and severe wind chill
Tons of snow all winter. It never melts, they just keep piling it up along the sides of the roads and it looks gross, dirty and depressing for months on end.
you will get mny sunny days that even when it is only +20 it feels much nicer and you may even ditch teh extra gear adn just go in a jacket and gloves.
Fresh snowfalls are beautiful, and if you have kids they will love to play in it.
People get sick a lot from teh extreme cold temps for long periods of time.
Driving is a concern if you have never dealt with it, i suggest taking a driving class. The snow isnt a big deal but the ice can be deadly to drive on. Especially after dark when the snow blows across the roads and you can not see it, also learning how to stop on it can take a bit of getting used to.
MN is one of the best states ive seen though for preperation though. The plows are out and the roads get cleared fast. Unlike Virginia, Texas, And NC where if it snows, they just tell you to stay home til it melts.
Waking up to 7 degree weather and having to go start your car 30 minutes early and scrape your windshield, then shovel your driveway multiple times a week(if not per day)
The though of going into the ditch on your commute home and hoping someone stops to help.....yuk

Charlotte Winters;
Waking up to sunny skies and 40 degree air temp....clear sidewalks, sweatshirts and a cap weather.... need I say more> LOL

Honestly, Dont be discouraged to go to MN, Im not trying to imply it is bad and in fact we are playing with the idea of moving back to be around family again. But we also would rather move back to Charlotte. If our family was not in MN we would never even consider going back in a million years but that is just us, we dont like the long cold winters and we are not winter sports people, we like to water ski, boat fish, walk, ride bikes etc.....

If you like to ski, snowboard, sled etc MN could offer 5 solid months of it.
I know I dont paint a pretty picture of it, but I will say this honestly.... we have lived in Washington DC, Dallas TX, Charlotte NC and MN and none of them are that different other than the weather and the scenery. You will have the same things to do, the same places to shop, the same chain food joints, the same big box stores, festivals, parks, theme parks, museums etc in all of them.

I would just make sure you move because you want to be there, not just because it is something new. because if thats the case, id pick a different place.

Im not sure if you are moving for jobs or why, but if you go to MN, you will need to be open minded and give it a couple of good winters there, heck...Id move there right inthe middle of winter if I were you and then you get the bad out of the way.

I think you will find summers there to be similar to NC, Hot Muggy, lots of humidity, tons of bugs and misquitos....which i dont remember being that bad in NC. The summers are short though, maybe about 2 months of hot and sticky weather. A nice 2-3 months of Fall which is my favorite time of year, and a sshort spring. Spring can be extreme because it usually is still cold and even snowing through most of April and then it gets hot fast.

Good luck with everything. I could go on for ever so if you have any direct questions feel free to message me or post a reply I will try to be helpful and you can always expect my honesty even if its not what you are hoping to hear LOL....

GL

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by rtloucks

People get sick a lot from teh extreme cold temps for long periods of time.
GL

This is certainly not my experience. I am also unaware of any type of illness that is cause by cold temperatures.

Winters in MN are no different that a lot of things in life-- they are what you make of them. If you have a positive attitude and stay active, you will enjoy them. If you go in with a negative attitude and stay home all the time, you will be miserable. My advice is to dress warmly and go out to play a lot.

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by rtloucks

I have lived in both places...
I grew up in MN until I was 27, (Minneapolis and Rochester) And then I lived in Charlotte for two years including 2009 winter when we actually got a decent snowfall and an ice storm .

Let me say this without trying to discourage you. The MN winters are severely deifferent than teh Charlotte Winters.

Minnesota Winter Summary:
Average temps in the teens to be expected with some nice sunny days hitting the 30's
Many many many days and especially nights/mornings with below zero temps and severe wind chill
Tons of snow all winter. It never melts, they just keep piling it up along the sides of the roads and it looks gross, dirty and depressing for months on end.
you will get mny sunny days that even when it is only +20 it feels much nicer and you may even ditch teh extra gear adn just go in a jacket and gloves.
Fresh snowfalls are beautiful, and if you have kids they will love to play in it.
People get sick a lot from teh extreme cold temps for long periods of time.
Driving is a concern if you have never dealt with it, i suggest taking a driving class. The snow isnt a big deal but the ice can be deadly to drive on. Especially after dark when the snow blows across the roads and you can not see it, also learning how to stop on it can take a bit of getting used to.
MN is one of the best states ive seen though for preperation though. The plows are out and the roads get cleared fast. Unlike Virginia, Texas, And NC where if it snows, they just tell you to stay home til it melts.
Waking up to 7 degree weather and having to go start your car 30 minutes early and scrape your windshield, then shovel your driveway multiple times a week(if not per day)
The though of going into the ditch on your commute home and hoping someone stops to help.....yuk

Charlotte Winters;
Waking up to sunny skies and 40 degree air temp....clear sidewalks, sweatshirts and a cap weather.... need I say more> LOL

Honestly, Dont be discouraged to go to MN, Im not trying to imply it is bad and in fact we are playing with the idea of moving back to be around family again. But we also would rather move back to Charlotte. If our family was not in MN we would never even consider going back in a million years but that is just us, we dont like the long cold winters and we are not winter sports people, we like to water ski, boat fish, walk, ride bikes etc.....

If you like to ski, snowboard, sled etc MN could offer 5 solid months of it.
I know I dont paint a pretty picture of it, but I will say this honestly.... we have lived in Washington DC, Dallas TX, Charlotte NC and MN and none of them are that different other than the weather and the scenery. You will have the same things to do, the same places to shop, the same chain food joints, the same big box stores, festivals, parks, theme parks, museums etc in all of them.

I would just make sure you move because you want to be there, not just because it is something new. because if thats the case, id pick a different place.

Im not sure if you are moving for jobs or why, but if you go to MN, you will need to be open minded and give it a couple of good winters there, heck...Id move there right inthe middle of winter if I were you and then you get the bad out of the way.

I think you will find summers there to be similar to NC, Hot Muggy, lots of humidity, tons of bugs and misquitos....which i dont remember being that bad in NC. The summers are short though, maybe about 2 months of hot and sticky weather. A nice 2-3 months of Fall which is my favorite time of year, and a sshort spring. Spring can be extreme because it usually is still cold and even snowing through most of April and then it gets hot fast.

Good luck with everything. I could go on for ever so if you have any direct questions feel free to message me or post a reply I will try to be helpful and you can always expect my honesty even if its not what you are hoping to hear LOL....

GL

mostly a bunch of exagerations, misperceptions and utter nonsense regarding minneapolis winters and this post should be completely discounted as innacurate