Douglas: Friday more likely to bring plowable snow

We may see five or six more subzero nights next week.

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The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 12, 2025 at 10:31PM

The next time you don’t want to talk about politics, religion or the Vikings, consider sharing a few weather nuggets instead.

1. Earth is closer to the sun during our winter. The cooling effect is a result of Earth being tilted on its axis by 23 ½ degrees.

2. Do cars feel windchill? No. The wind chill formula calculates how fast wind will push warm air away from your skin. A strong wind will cool your engine block to the current air temperature faster, mind you. And most pets, including horses, feel windchill.

Did I mention we may enjoy three or four days of 30s the last week of February? A splash of milder, Pacific air is coming after a long spell of colder-than-normal weather. We may see five or six more subzero nights next week before the pattern mellows a notch or two.

We’ll see blue sky today, but models look a little more impressive for snow Friday, potentially plowable (3 inches or more), but the heaviest snow bands stay south and east over Wisconsin and Iowa, where another 8-12 inches snow may fall by Sunday. A very close call. But that doesn’t count, right?

about the writer

about the writer

Paul Douglas

Columnist

Paul Douglas is a nationally-respected meteorologist, with 40 years of broadcast television and radio experience. He provides daily print and online weather services for the Star Tribune.

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