Cloudy Monday - Much Colder Later This Week

With a frontal boundary slowly sagging south across the state on Monday, temperatures will likely be slightly cooler than what we saw on Sunday with highs only climbing into the mid/upper 20s in the metro. Mainly cloudy skies are expected, and there could be a few snowflakes around mainly off across central Minnesota.

Much of the same is expected across the state with mainly cloudy skies and again that light snow or flurry chance across central Minnesota, mainly during the morning and midday hours. Highs will range from the teens near the International Border to the low 30s in southwestern Minnesota.

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A thaw is in store on Tuesday in the metro as highs climb to the mid-30s under cloudy skies. There will be the chance of snow the farther you head north - more on that in a moment. After our 30s on Tuesday, Canadian high pressure moves in during the second half of the week bringing much colder temperatures along with it. Highs on Thursday might not even make it above zero in the metro.

And with that colder weather will come subzero lows and, as shown on the graphic above, bitterly cold wind chills once again down between at least -20F and -25F for the morning hours on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

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Forecast snow from 6 PM Monday to 6 PM Tuesday. WeatherBell/NWS

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With a lot of cold air to begin the month, followed by some above average temperatures for the middle of last week, our average temperature is 10.7F so far at MSP, 5.9F below average and tied for the 56th coldest start to January. While we are slightly below average precipitation-wise, we are slightly above average in the snowfall department.

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Pretty Close To Historical Rock Bottom
By Paul Douglas

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It's also the Dead of Winter. By my rough calculations, looking at MSP averages, Saturday was rock bottom; the statistical midpoint of winter. Average mean temperatures in the Twin Cities are 23F from January 8-27, as low as they ever go. In theory, on paper, average temperatures start to creep up a little by late January. Tell that to the atmosphere. Another cold phase is approaching with as many as 7-9 more subzero nights by January 31.

In the meantime no bugs, weeds or nagging allergies.

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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

MONDAY: Cloudy and quiet. Wake up 16. High 27. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind S 5-10 mph.

TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy and mild. Wake up 22. High 33. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind S 10-20 mph.

THURSDAY: Yukon sunshine, less wind. Wake up -13. High -2. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind NW 5-10 mph.

FRIDAY: Dry start, light snow late PM hours? Wake up -14. High 16. Chance of precipitation 60%. Wind SE 10-20 mph.

SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy and chilly. Wake up 2. High 6. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind NW 15-25 mph.

SUNDAY: Some sunshine, a bit crisp. Wake up -11. High 2. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 7-12 mph.

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*Length Of Day: 9 hours, 14 minutes, and 7 seconds
*Daylight GAINED Since Yesterday: 1 minute and 54 seconds

*When Do We See 9.5 Hours Of Daylight: January 25th (9 hours, 31 minutes, 15 seconds)
*Next Sunrise At/Before 7:30 AM: February 3rd (7:30 AM)
*Next Sunset At/After 5:30 PM: February 8th (5:31 PM)

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This Day in Weather History
January 17th

1996: A severe ice storm hits the western and northern Twin Cities with accumulations between a half an inch and an inch. A foot of snow fell over central Minnesota.

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The system impacting the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic with snow and ice Sunday will continue to lift northward on Monday, bringing rain, snow, and ice to the Northeast. Some scattered areas of snow will be possible from the Northern Rockies to the western Great Lakes. Rain and snow will be possible in the Pacific Northwest with a trough approaching the region.

The heaviest additional snow will be possible in portions of the Northeast through the beginning of the week, with the potential of over a foot for areas like Pittsburgh and Buffalo.

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How to watch the 'Ice Moon' rise on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Massachusetts startup sees path to more efficient windows with new material

More from Energy News Network: "A new material developed in Massachusetts could someday help make super-efficient windows more affordable for home and business owners. A Cambridge startup called AeroShield has developed a clear, lightweight material that, when sandwiched between two panes of glass, produces windows that are more insulating than even bulkier, more expensive options. Early research by the company indicates that windows incorporating its material could cut residential heating and cooling costs by 20%. The first prototypes could be installed in demonstration projects by the end of 2022, and products could hit the wider market in 2023 or 2024."

Earth's interior is cooling faster than expected

More from ETH Zurich: "The evolution of our Earth is the story of its cooling: 4.5 billion years ago, extreme temperatures prevailed on the surface of the young Earth, and it was covered by a deep ocean of magma. Over millions of years, the planet's surface cooled to form a brittle crust. However, the enormous thermal energy emanating from the Earth's interior set dynamic processes in motion, such as mantle convection, plate tectonics and volcanism. Still unanswered, though, are the questions of how fast the Earth cooled and how long it might take for this ongoing cooling to bring the aforementioned heat-​driven processes to a halt. One possible answer may lie in the thermal conductivity of the minerals that form the boundary between the Earth's core and mantle."

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- D.J. Kayser