Mostly Quiet & Cold Week Ahead
Weather conditions will be quieter over the next several days as a big bubble of high slides through the Midwest. This will also be a colder air mass with temperatures running below average much of the week ahead. There is a chance of flurries later in the week, but at this point, it doesn't look like anything major.
Snow Depth
The latest snow depth reports show a fairly decent base across the region. The Metro was reporting around 6", but has you head north, there are some double digit reports. According to the MN DNR Snowmobile and cross-country ski trails are generally reported to be in good to very good conditions across the northern half of the state. Trails in the southern half of the state are reported to poor condition with little to now snow on the ground there.
See more from the MN DNR HERE:
Seasonal Snowfall So Far
Here's a look at how much snow we've seen so far this season. Note the Twin Cities has seen nearly 32", which is nearly +4.0" to +5.0" above average. Grand Forks, ND has seen nearly 40" of snow, which is more than 1ft above average! Heading south into South Dakota, many locations there are below average and more than 1ft below average in Pierre and Huron. Folks in southern Wisconsin are also nearly 1ft below average, including Madison and Milwaukee.
Cold Week Ahead
Here's the 850mb temp anomaly through the week ahead. Note that temps will generally be running below average (blue colors). Temps will warm up briefly closer to average by Thursday.
Monday Weather Outlook
The weather outlook for Minneapolis on Monday shows chilly sunshine in place with temps running below average. Breezy north winds will make it feel like sub-zero all day.
Meteograms for Minneapolis
The hourly temps for Minneapolis on Monday show temps starting in the single digits with highs approaching 10F by the afternoon. NNW winds will be a bit breezy with gusts approaching 20mph.
Wind Chill Values Monday
Feels like temps for Minneapolis on Monday will be chilly with sub-zero wind chill values throughout the day.
Weather Outlook For Monday
High temps across the region on Monday will be running nearly -10F to -20F below average. Some locations across the far north won't get above 0F during the day.
Extended Temperature Outlook For Minneapolis
The extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis over the next several days shows temps running well below through the first half of the week. Temps on Tuesday might not make it about 0F for the day, which will be nearly -25F below average. Temps on Thursday will be in the mid 20s, which will be closer to average for late Thursday.
Extended Weather Outlook For Minneapolis
The extended weather forecast through the week ahead shows a chilly week ahead, but there won't be much snow. There is a chance of a few flurries on Thursday but no accumulations are expected.
Extended Temperature Outlook For Minneapolis
According to the ECMWF & GFS extended temperature outlook, temperatures will be very chilly through the first half of the week with readings back to near average at the end of the week. The weekend ahead could features near to slightly above average temps, but no big snow storms are in sight.
8 to 14 Day Temperature Outlook
According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 day temperature outlook shows below average temps across the northern tier of the nation, while above average temperatures will be found along the southern tier of the nation and along the east coast.
8 to 14 Day Precipitation Outlook
According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, more active weather could be found across much of the nation as we approach the end of the month and into early February.
My Electric Snow Blower Will Collect Dust
By Paul Douglas
Alberta Clippers have nothing to do with hairstylists in Edmonton. Ripples of low pressure that precede fresh shots of arctic air, clippers clip along at 30-40 mph. They are named after the clipper ships of the 1800s, at the time the fastest vessels on the water.
Snow from clippers is often light and powdery and fairly easy to remove. I (almost) look forward to using my electric snow blower. With 2 big batteries charged up in my garage, I can go for over an hour before recharging. Just enough juice to get an aerobic workout.
Old Man Winter burps a few more moderately cold airmasses south of the border this week, but overall I see signs of a slow, grudging warming in the weeks to come. By warming I mean 20s and a few 30s. No daffodils in sight.
Northwesterly winds aloft will blow more from the west in coming weeks, amore moderate pattern with temperatures closer to average. This "zonal flow" will limit just how much moisture can reach us from the Gulf of Mexico. No big snowstorms are in sight.
Extended Forecast
MONDAY: Chilled sun and breezy. Winds: NW 10-20. High: 11.
MONDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear and cold. Winds: NW 5-10. Low: -12. Feels like: -25
TUESDAY: Blue sky, Yukon Lite. Winds: NW 8-13. High: 0. Feels like -20F to -30F
WEDNESDAY: Clouds increase, windy. Winds: S 15-25. Wake-up: -15. High: 25.
THURSDAY: Few flurries, cold wind. Winds: NW 15-25. Wake-up: 12. High: 14.
FRIDAY: Patchy clouds, still chilly. Winds: SW 5-10. Wake-up: -9. High: 12.
SATURDAY: Mix of clouds and sun, "average". Winds: NE 7-12. Wake-up: 4. High: 23.
SUNDAY: Some sun, no weather drama. Winds: N 7-12. Wake-up: 11. High: 24.
This Day in Weather History
January 24th
1968: A rare severe thunderstorm hits the Twin Cities and leaves a coating of ice an inch thick. 10 thousand homes were without power.
1950: An ice storm develops over southwest Minnesota. Ice on telephone wires from 1/3 to 1.5 inches. Bismarck, North Dakota had 17 inches of snow. A Northern Pacific passenger train derailed at Detroit Lakes with no injuries.
1925: A solar eclipse is seen across northern Minnesota during the morning. The Duluth Herald reported that chickens were 'puzzled by the dark morning' and didn't leave their roosts.
Average High/Low for Minneapolis
January 24th
Average High: 24F (Record: 57F set in 1981)
Average Low: 7F (Record: -33F set in 1904)
Record Rainfall: 1.21" set in 1967
Record Snowfall: 6.0" set in 1972
Sunrise/Sunset Times for Minneapolis
January 24th
Sunrise: 7:40am
Sunset: 5:09pm
Hours of Daylight: ~9 hours & 29 minutes
Daylight GAINED since yesterday: ~ 2 minute & 15 seconds
Daylight GAINED since Winter Solstice (December 21st): ~ 43 minutes
Moon Phase for January 24th at Midnight
0.3 Days Before Last Quarter Moon
National High Temps Monday
The weather outlook on Monday shows below average temps along the East Coast and the Upper Midwest.
National Weather Outlook
The weather outlook through through the early part of the week shows snow moving through the Great Lakes Region with accumulations likely. There will also be some snow drifting south along the Front Range and heavy rains along the Gulf Coast and into Florida.
Extended Precipitation Outlook
According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, areas of heavy precipitation will be possible across the Gulf Coast and into Florida. Meanwhile, areas of Lake Effect snow will be found in the Great Lakes Region.
Extended Snowfall Potential
Here's the extended snowfall potential as we head through the end of January. Heavier snow will continue in the high elevations in the Western US. There could also be plowable snows across parts of the Central US and into the Great Lakes.
Climate Stories
"The Maldives is being swallowed by the sea. Can it adapt?"
Whether or not the Maldives can survive climate change, the country will never be the same. "My most peaceful moments are on the water," Thoiba Saeedh, an anthropologist, said just before a motorboat took us skimming across the glassy Indian Ocean towards the tiny island of Felidhoo in the Maldives. The speedboat carved a wake between sand-fringed, palm-covered islands—some with resort villas lining wooden jetties—as a pod of dolphins butterflied through the gentle swell and flying fish launched themselves improbably into the air.
See more from National Geographic HERE:
"Greenland Could Melt for Millennia If Warming Stopped Today"
"The warming that humans cause today may have ripple effects far into the future, scientists warned in a study yesterday that finds the vast Greenland ice sheet could continue melting for centuries after greenhouse gases are stabilized. Greenland has a delayed response to changes in the Earth's climate, and even if the planet stopped warming tomorrow, Greenland may continue losing ice for hundreds or even thousands of years. The study, published in the journal PLOS One and led by Hu Yang of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany, used model simulations to look back thousands of years into Greenland's history."
See more from Scientific American HERE:
"Right Now There's a Jupiter-Size Plasma Tree on the Sun"
"Thanks to the skills of astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy, we're able to see an incredible "tree" that has been "planted" on the Sun. Clocking in at an impressive 80,000 miles high, this isn't any ordinary tree. It's actually made from plasma that has been pulled away from the Sun by its magnetic field. This type of occurrence is actually known as a solar prominence, which NASA defines as "a large, bright feature extending outward from the Sun's surface." Anchored to its surface, they stretch out into the Sun's outer atmosphere, or corona. In his post on Instagram, McCarthy estimates that this particular solar prominence, which does look like a tree, is the size of Jupiter."
See more from My Modern Met HERE:
