Monday's arrival brought with it a weather milestone many Twin Citians just as soon miss out on: 50 days this season with a subzero temperature reading.
Records kept by the National Weather Service (NWS) show there have been just four other times when that has happened in the Twin Cities: 1977-78 (51 days), 1887-88 (55), 1886-87 (57) and 1874-75 (60).
It was 6 below zero in the metro when the clock struck midnight, according to the weather service. As daybreak arrived, the temperature slipped to minus 10.
If it's any consolation, Twin Citians were not alone overnight. Cities up and down and across the state were in minus territory, the NWS said. St. Cloud set a record at 4:53 a.m. with a reading of minus 19.
By 7 a.m., parts of north-central Minnesota were in the 30s below zero.
Our friends to the east in Wisconsin also were not spared. It was 20 below in Eau Claire, at roughly the same time. That shattered a 61-year-old record.
For the week ahead, it does appear that the Twin Cities will stay north of zero, with highs flirting with 30 by the end of the week and lows no colder than the middle single digits in the next day or two, according to the weather service.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
