MN weather: Hold on tight, temperatures will swing wildly over the next few days

By
Published  January 13, 2025 10:41am CST
FOX 9

The Brief

    • This week starts quite cold with subzero temperatures once again after our weekend snow.
    • A quick but brief pattern change will likely push temps back above freezing before the workweek is done.
    • The warmth will be short-lived as dangerously cold temperatures are likely late this upcoming weekend — and none of this is likely to come with any snow.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Drastic changes in temperature are expected several times over the next few days, with both a thaw and the coldest air of the season expected in the next week or so.

Minnesota's quick cold snap

The Backstory: Temperatures have been slightly below average overall so far this month and that continues early this week as we started our Monday back below zero. But this is nothing unusual around here, as the Twin Cities average 20 calendar days each year with subzero temperatures. 

Through Monday, we've now seen a week of subzero temperatures total for the season. This is already more than all last winter, which was the warmest winter on record. More subzero temperatures are in the forecast.

But weirdly, it doesn't look like it will come with any substantial snow. So far, we are more than a foot below average here in the Twin Cities, where we haven't even eclipsed 10 inches total for the season.

DOWNLOAD THE FOX 9 WEATHER APP

A brief thaw and then we're headed back to the freezer

By the numbers:

A quick warm up is likely to round out our workweek, although just how long it hangs around and how warm we get remains to be seen. But temperatures are likely to get above freezing for a while. It is not uncommon even for us here in Minnesota to see a brief thaw or two during even the coldest months of the season. 

Once we get through the brief thaw though, temperatures start tumbling heading through the weekend, and may not stop until sometime early next week, with the coldest air of the winter so far looking more and more likely.

Our current cold snap is mostly contained to the far Upper Midwest, but next week's cold could encompass a lot of the country with the coldest temperatures of the season could fall from here to the Gulf Coast. So far, the Twin Cities has dropped to 7 degrees below zero, but there is a good possibility that this upcoming air could be at least 5 degrees colder. The average coldest temperature each year here in the Twin Cities is 18 degrees below zero, so teens below zero are definitely cold, but not exactly unusual.

Weather ForecastWinter WeatherMinnesota