After record cold and snowfall in February, early March isn’t offering much of a reprieve.
On Sunday morning, the Twin Cities tied the record for coldest low on this date with a temperature of 13 below, a record set in 1873, according to National Weather Service.
And Sunday’s high of 0 degrees broke a record for the lowest high temperature on this date, according to the National Weather Service. The previous record of 6 degrees was set on March 3, 1873.
These low temperatures are anticipated to combine with winds of 10 to 15 miles per hour to push the windchill factor down to the mid-20s below zero on Monday. The Twin Cities is under a windchill advisory until Monday morning.
But a respite is in sight. Temperatures are expected to rise to the high 20s to about 30 degrees by the weekend, with a high of 31 forecast for Saturday. That’s “chasing normal” in terms of average temperatures but not quite there, said Chris O’Brien, a meteorologist with the weather service.
Yet another record could be broken Monday, when the anticipated high of 7 possibly unseats the coldest high of 8 that was set in 1917.
Will the Twin Cities see even an average high temperature any time soon?
“I’m not showing much hope for that out until March 18th,” weather service meteorologist Caleb Grunzke said as he scrutinized two forecast models.
That’s just about in time for the first day of spring on March 20.
