6:30 PM Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Record warmth is possible in the Northland Wednesday as a very mild air mass moves over the upper Midwest with 850mb temperatures ranging from around +7 to +14C across Minnesota. Some of this warm air will mix down to the surface which will cause temperatures to soar into the 40s in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin Wednesday afternoon with 50s likely across central and southern Minnesota into western Wisconsin. A few locations in southwest Minnesota around the Buffalo Ridge could see temps near 60 Wednesday afternoon.
Temperatures will turn cooler late this week as some backdoor cooling occurs as winds shift to the northeast but we’re still looking at highs in the 30s to lower 40s Thursday and Friday which is still above normal for this time of the year, but winds will be a bit brisk out of the northeast so it will feel a little chillier near the shores of Lake Superior. A pattern more like March or early April around here.
Record Highs for January 31
Brainerd, MN: 48 set in 1993
Duluth, MN: 48 set in 1892
Ashland, WI: 47 set in 1964
Hibbing, MN: 46 set in 2009
International Falls, MN: 45 set in 1999
This is some major warmth at 850mb (~5000 feet) on Wednesday, and if this was March or April those kinds of temperatures at the 850mb level would support temperatures in the 60s and 70s in much of the upper Midwest.
Record warm low temperatures tied or broken in the Northland on Monday.
Hibbing — New record warm low of 28 degrees. The old record was 24 degrees set in 1992.
Brainerd — Tied their record warm low of 29 degrees which was set in 1942 and 2006.
Note: Our normal lows in the Northland in late January range from around zero to 5 below.
Over the past 7 days our low temperatures have been running some +20 to +25 degrees or more above normal across the area.
The pattern might turn a little more active in our area next week although there are still no major systems showing up in the computer models, but some light rain or snow is possible at times in parts of the Northland next week.
EPS model 500mb forecast valid for February 4-9, 2024.
Thanks for reading!
Tim