Just how cold is it in Minnesota? (Minneapolis, Duluth: to live in, fence)

[kolaida]

Originally Posted by rockyinyourradio

I was up there that morning to witness the all time record chill. I left Virginia, MN. just before sunrise and got to the Embarrass area around 8am as the sun was rising which typically can be the coldest time. I went down many roads in the low spots between Embarrass and Tower and the coldest I could find was -43F below.

For those monitoring this thread from AK. Do you remember Jan.'89?? I was there for that.. my wife and I traveled from Fairbanks thru North Pole where my antifreeze turned to jello and made the car overheat, the temp. there was -55F. After adjusting the antifreeze in North Pole, we proceeded to Delta Junction where a bank thermometer had -60F. Now that as Mike Lynch from WCCO would say was "macho winter weather"! Merry Christmas everyone!

I actually was in New Mexico in '89 But a lot of people here do talk about the harsher winters in the past and I think that's one they bring up pretty often (the winter it was like, below 60! LOL!). Definitely "macho winter weather!"

I've been looking at the Minnesota forums often because I've seriously considered moving there as I happen to love malls and the one time I went to the Mall of America, I fell in love with it and with the state. Being in Fairbanks, I feel really mall/shopping-deprived. I mean, seriously, Safeway grocery store is the food court in our mall. No, really, it IS. So, yeah, that's why I'm on the MN boards often And to make sure you guys don't try to show us up as the coldest state, you know? ;D LOL! Though, really, cold is cold. Once you get to -20 to -30, you're too numb to really care about the difference!!!

[rockyinyourradio]

Originally Posted by kazoopilot

Any chance we see some severe flooding from the rain and the feet of snow melting? An early spring thaw (of course it won't stay thawed, unfortunately)?

As far as flooding from the coming mild spell by Thurs 30/12, not likely, temps. will probably stay below 40F and will probably be above freezing for less than 48 hours at very most. Concerning the rest of the season.. the chances are excellent that we'll see at least a couple more significant snowfalls (6"+) between now and March. I'll be surprised if you see much bare ground between now thru at least the end of Feb.

One of the aspects of forecasting I enjoy is trying to decipher long term weather patterns. I could try to explain how I knew back in the summer when the La Nina was developing that this would be a tough winter along with other factors involved but it may confound the typical person using this forum that may only have a layman's knowledge of weather, so I won't go there. So far though, I've nailed it pretty close and I still believe that we'll be susceptible to some major storms along with some abnormally cold temps. but nothing real record shattering. I am confident with this current snowpack that there will be some flooding as we approach spring but this will be contingent to how rapid the onset of the thaw is and just how much snow we finally end up with. My forecast back in November was for between 65-72" of snow for the Twin Cities this winter. I think as you can surmise, we are well on our way. So with that said.. I think at least some flooding is a given once March arrives or when we finally stay above freezing for at least a few days at a stretch.

If you want to have a more in depth look at our wonderful Minnesota climate, you may be interested in Paul Douglas's blog that he updates almost every day. Paul was chief meterologist for WCCO TV before being unfairly canned a few years back and was on KARE 11 as well. Paul Douglas.. at least in my humble opinion is one of the best forecasters out there and is one heck of a nice guy. You can check out his blog here:

Paul Douglas Weather Column

[rockyinyourradio]

"

I've been looking at the Minnesota forums often because I've seriously considered moving there as I happen to love malls and the one time I went to the Mall of America, I fell in love with it and with the state. Being in Fairbanks, I feel really mall/shopping-deprived. I mean, seriously, Safeway grocery store is the food court in our mall. No, really, it IS. So, yeah, that's why I'm on the MN boards often And to make sure you guys don't try to show us up as the coldest state, you know? ;D LOL! Though, really, cold is cold. Once you get to -20 to -30, you're too numb to really care about the difference!!![/quote]


Unfortunately I don't think you've seen the worst of the cold yet. Long range models have Fairbanks and much of the interior between -35 to -60F by about the 10Jan. Perhaps we could pick this up under the AK. forums..

[snofarmer]

Nope this is MN cold, you can start one in the Alaska forum, Alaska cold.

The interior and far north Alaska may get colder but most of your population lives along the coast where it is much warmer than Mn is.

On an other note there is much of Canada that is located south of us.

[RedJacket]

If you happen to fall out of bed during the winter months, you will break your pajamas.

[Minnesota Spring]

Originally Posted by snofarmer

Nope this is MN cold, you can start one in the Alaska forum, Alaska cold.

The interior and far north Alaska may get colder but most of your population lives along the coast where it is much warmer than Mn is.

On an other note there is much of Canada that is located south of us.

The Alaskan coast is NOT "much warmer" than Minnesota. It is certainly much colder than Minnesota in the Spring, Summer and Fall and the Anchorage area (where most Alaskans live) is either slightly warmer or slightly cooler than the Twin Cities on any given winter. This winter, the Anchorage area is actually running colder than the Twin Cities. My sister had lived in the Anchorage area for years and always complained that she could not grow anything close to what she grew in her Minnesota garden because of the cold air and soil up there.

[Minnesota Spring]

Originally Posted by rockyinyourradio

As far as flooding from the coming mild spell by Thurs 30/12, not likely, temps. will probably stay below 40F and will probably be above freezing for less than 48 hours at very most. Concerning the rest of the season.. the chances are excellent that we'll see at least a couple more significant snowfalls (6"+) between now and March. I'll be surprised if you see much bare ground between now thru at least the end of Feb.

One of the aspects of forecasting I enjoy is trying to decipher long term weather patterns. I could try to explain how I knew back in the summer when the La Nina was developing that this would be a tough winter along with other factors involved but it may confound the typical person using this forum that may only have a layman's knowledge of weather, so I won't go there. So far though, I've nailed it pretty close and I still believe that we'll be susceptible to some major storms along with some abnormally cold temps. but nothing real record shattering. I am confident with this current snowpack that there will be some flooding as we approach spring but this will be contingent to how rapid the onset of the thaw is and just how much snow we finally end up with. My forecast back in November was for between 65-72" of snow for the Twin Cities this winter. I think as you can surmise, we are well on our way. So with that said.. I think at least some flooding is a given once March arrives or when we finally stay above freezing for at least a few days at a stretch.

If you want to have a more in depth look at our wonderful Minnesota climate, you may be interested in Paul Douglas's blog that he updates almost every day. Paul was chief meterologist for WCCO TV before being unfairly canned a few years back and was on KARE 11 as well. Paul Douglas.. at least in my humble opinion is one of the best forecasters out there and is one heck of a nice guy. You can check out his blog here:

Paul Douglas Weather Column

I read Paul's blog daily.
It looks like this weekend is going to be mainly a rain event starting Thursday. This happened a couple of times last winter as well, where we had quite a bit of rain fall in January. In Paul's post today he talks about the large increase of rain during Minnesota winters since 2000. This weekend should knock the snow pack down about six inches with the melting and compaction. Maybe I will be able to see oncoming cars when coming out of my driveway now

Hopefully Oklahoma gets dumped on a few times this winter with snow storms

[tvdxer]

This winter has been miserable so far in Duluth. Actually, every winter in Duluth is miserable, but some are more miserable than others, and this has been one of them. We haven't had an above-freezing temperature, even in the daytime, once this month; the warmest temperature recorded at the airport all December was 28 on December 21st, and when the temperature rises into the upper 20's, usually it's cloudy and snowing heavily. The sun is mostly reserved for temperatures in the 0's and 10's - in other words, days on which it is too cold to be of much use. The lowest temperature this month was a bone-chilling -16 on the 14th, with wind chills in the -30's. We haven't had any sub-zero high temperatures yet this winter, although many other locations in the state have. Add that to the fact that we are having a really hard time (our business is on the verge of bankruptcy) and many other troubles, and you have one depressing situation.

As for the rest of the year, many personal problems aside, January and and the first half of February were cold (but actually above average), but the second half of February had some very pleasant daytime temperatures in the upper 30's. March was the warmest on record here, and actually had a lot of very pleasant days - Spring Break was marked by a week of temperatures hovering around 60, and by the end of March the crickets were out chirping in full force - unknown for March in Duluth. April was also pleasant, and May was cooler than normal. The summer brought quite a few muggy days, but that all ended in September, which was colder than usual (in other words, cold). October brought above-average temperatures, including a high of 77 at the airport on the 8th - rare for Duluth. The warmth continued through the middle of November, when Duluth was hit by a snowstorm. The snow has since accumulated.

[Minnesota Spring]

Originally Posted by tvdxer

This winter has been miserable so far in Duluth. Actually, every winter in Duluth is miserable, but some are more miserable than others, and this has been one of them. We haven't had an above-freezing temperature, even in the daytime, once this month; the warmest temperature recorded at the airport all December was 28 on December 21st, and when the temperature rises into the upper 20's, usually it's cloudy and snowing heavily. The sun is mostly reserved for temperatures in the 0's and 10's - in other words, days on which it is too cold to be of much use. The lowest temperature this month was a bone-chilling -16 on the 14th, with wind chills in the -30's. We haven't had any sub-zero high temperatures yet this winter, although many other locations in the state have. Add that to the fact that we are having a really hard time (our business is on the verge of bankruptcy) and many other troubles, and you have one depressing situation.

As for the rest of the year, many personal problems aside, January and and the first half of February were cold (but actually above average), but the second half of February had some very pleasant daytime temperatures in the upper 30's. March was the warmest on record here, and actually had a lot of very pleasant days - Spring Break was marked by a week of temperatures hovering around 60, and by the end of March the crickets were out chirping in full force - unknown for March in Duluth. April was also pleasant, and May was cooler than normal. The summer brought quite a few muggy days, but that all ended in September, which was colder than usual (in other words, cold). October brought above-average temperatures, including a high of 77 at the airport on the 8th - rare for Duluth. The warmth continued through the middle of November, when Duluth was hit by a snowstorm. The snow has since accumulated.

Sorry to hear about your business and weather issues. Hopefully this spring will be like last one after this harsh winter. I just saw the weather forecast for the state and they are predicting a thaw for the next few days except for the Northeast portion (including Duluth) unfortunately

[cinnamon_toast]

We moved to Texas this summer and I am so much happier... I didn't realize how depressed the MN winters made me until we got here. I really don't like feeling cold and have come to realize I am more sensitive to it than others. I guess it's all what you can tolerate.