“Jeez, Paul, it wouldn’t be so bad out there if it wasn’t so darn windy!” Good point. We do not live in Hurricane Alley (East and Gulf coasts), but we do reside in the “Saudi Arabia of Wind.”
The wind can be annoying, but it’s also keeping your lights on. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, wind turbines generate 25% of Minnesota’s total electricity.
Here’s the thing: The greater (and faster) the swings in temperature up and down, the faster winds have to blow to keep our atmosphere in equilibrium. It’s how our weather is wired, and, yes, 2025 was yet another windier-than-normal year across the state.
Wednesday was crazy, with blizzard conditions up north, gusts to 54 mph (Fergus Falls) and a “flash freeze” in the metro.
There will be less wind on Thursday, with a light ice-snow mix by tonight — but no big snowstorms are in sight.
I see 30s next week, maybe 40 on Christmas Day with some 40s into early January. The European weather model predicts an inch or 2 of slush on the ground at MSP on Christmas morning. I am not in charge of thaws.
