Weather Blog for Duluth and the Northland

5:30 PM Monday, January 13, 2025

All eyes are focused on the upcoming weekend and the following week when several lobes of the polar vortex are expected to move across the upper Midwest and Great Lakes, bringing with them bitterly cold temperatures and dangerously low wind chills that could approach -40 degrees at times early next week.

The entire week of January 19th looks frigid right now, although we may see some brief moderation in temperatures at some point during the week; however, even the moderation doesn’t look too significant right now.

But before this arctic air hits this weekend, there is a nice recovery in temperatures coming mid to late week, with highs possibly near or a few degrees above freezing in parts of the Northland on Thursday and Friday.

• February 3, 2023, was the last time Duluth, MN recorded a temperature of at least -20°F, with a low of -22°F.
• February 13, 2021, was the last time Duluth, MN recorded a temperature of at least -30°F, with a low of -35°F.
• On average, Duluth has 3 days with a minimum temperature of -20°F or colder in January. The record is 12 days with a low of -20°F or colder set in January 1912 and January 1885.

850 mb temperatures with the current Arctic blast today are as low as -23°C in the Northland, but later this weekend, the computer models are forecasting 850 mb temperatures as low as -30 to -33°C, which is very impressive.

Temperatures this afternoon in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin range from around zero to 5 below, with the 850 mb temperatures around -23°C. So when you look at the forecasted 850 mb temperatures for late this weekend, you get the feeling that actual temperatures will be at least 10 degrees colder than what we’re seeing today.

Note: Lows tonight may be slightly warmer than those observed last night in the Northland, but it will still be very cold tonight with lows ranging from around -5 to -15 degrees.