Harsh winter weather conditions Tonight and Thursday. Cover exposed skin if you head outdoors. Headline info. can be found on the previous blog post from earlier Today.

Issued at 8:15 PM CST, Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

• Bitterly cold temperatures with dangerous wind chills Tonight and Thursday
• Lake effect snow with several inches of accumulation thru Thursday for Iron CO Wisconsin
• Friday's snow system trends south with the latest model guidance
• 2 possible snow events for late this weekend and the middle of next week

Low temperature report for Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
Source:  National Weather Service Duluth, Minnesota

Duluth, MN:  -8 degrees
International Falls, MN:  -13 degrees
Brainerd, MN:  -11 degrees
Hibbing, MN:  -15 degrees
Hayward, WI:  -14 degrees
Silver Bay, MN:  -11 degrees
Orr, MN:  -15 degrees
Crane Lake, MN:  -13 degrees
Eveleth, MN:  -13 degrees
Bigfork, MN:  -15 degrees
Cook, MN:  -17 degrees
Longville, MN:  -15 degrees
Pine River, MN:  -15 degrees
Superior, WI:  -8 degrees
Sky Harbor, MN:  -2 degrees
Phillips, WI:  -13 degrees
3 miles east of Wright, MN:  -14 degrees
Northome, MN:  -14 degrees
Embarrass, MN:  -18 degrees
2 miles south of Tower, MN:  -14 degrees
Butternut, WI:  -16 degrees
4 miles west of Clam Lake, WI:  -18 degrees
Gordon, WI:  -13 degrees

Note:  At 12pm CT Today it was -29 degrees at Edmonton, Alberta Canada.  -28 degrees at Calgary.  -30 degrees at Saskatoon.  -25 degrees at Winnipeg.  -19 degrees at Thunder Bay.  And -28 degrees at Regina.  This is the airmass that will invade Minnesota during the next 24 hours.

Weather History:

On this date in 1994:  A record low temperature of -34 degrees occurred at Duluth, Minnesota.
On this date in 1996:  8.6" of snow fell at Duluth, Minnesota.

Today's Weather Summary for Northeast Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin

Low pressure of 1004mb has moved into Westcentral Lake Superior as of 8pm.  An arctic front continued to push southeast and as of mid-Evening this boundary extended from Southeast Minnesota to Northern Wisconsin.  A band of snow which lasts about an hour or so has been pushing east across our area during the Afternoon and Evening with new snowfall accumulations ranging from one half inch up to 2.0".  Herbster, WI:  2.0".  Near Bruno, MN:  2.0".  Near Pillager, MN:  1.0".  Once the snow stops, the northwest wind picks up and temperatures drop! Note:  It was 14 degrees at Duluth, MN (6pm) which dropped to 1 degree (8pm) High temperatures Today were in the teens and 20s with single digits below and single digits above zero in far Northern Minnesota.  Winds Today were out of the south, east or northwest at 10 to 20 mph.

Today's Upper Level Analysis:

A vigorous, but moisture starved storm system was moving east through the Upper Midwest, Western Ontario Province and Lake Superior per water vapor satellite imagery.  110 knot mid level jet was located in the Central Dakotas This Evening with a powerhouse 160-180 knot upper level jet stretching from Central Montana to Northern Nebraska per RUC model analysis.  Arctic air was pouring into Minnesota This Evening with 850mb temperatures as of 8pm ranging from -28 degrees C in Northwest Minnesota to -10 degrees C in Southeast Minnesota.

Tonight (January 18th)

Low pressure will deepen to around 997mb as it reaches Eastern Lake Superior by dawn.  An arctic front will clear Northwest Wisconsin before Midnight.  Snow associated with this front will taper off from west to east in Northwest Wisconsin between 10pm-Midnight.  About an inch of snow will fall in Northwest Wisconsin Tonight with isolated 2" amounts possible.  A few flurries could linger until around Midnight in Northern-Eastern Minnesota.  Skies will be partly to mostly cloudy Tonight with frigid low temperatures in the teens and 20s below zero.  Northwest winds at 10 to 20 mph with occasional higher gusts will produce wind chills from 25 below to 45 below zero.  Areas of blowing and drifting snow will also continue for most of the night.  Note:  Heavier lake effect snow showers will occur thru Thursday Morning, mainly in Iron County in Northwest Wisconsin...Snowfall accumulations of 3-6" are possible in Gile, Upson, Hurley and Montreal.

Thursday and Thursday Night (January 19th)

Arctic airmass will tighten it's grip on the Northland with high pressure building into the Upper Midwest.  Partly cloudy skies are forecasted during this period with highs on Thursday ranging from zero to around 10 below with lows Thursday Night in the single digits, teens and 20s below zero.  West or northwest winds are expected during this period at 10 to 15 mph.  Wind chills of 20 to 45 below will likely persist into Thursday Morning.

Extended Forecast (January 20th-22nd)

Low pressure will pass well to our south from Friday into early Saturday.  Snow associated with this system is expected to stay south of our area, but some flurries or a little light snow could affect portions of Eastern Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin during the day Friday.  It looks mainly dry Friday Night into Saturday Night, then on Sunday low pressure approaches from the west which should result in some snow breaking out in our area with some accumulations looking likely per recent model trends.  High temperatures on Friday will be in the single digits below to low teens above zero.  Lows Friday Night will be in the single digits, teens and 20s below zero.  Highs on Saturday will be in the single digits and teens with lows Saturday Night mainly in the single digits.  Highs on Sunday will be in the teens and 20s.

Long Range Forecast (January 23rd-29th)

Low pressure exits to our east on Monday with some lingering light snow or flurries possible in Northeast Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin.  We get a break on Tuesday, then another system could bring some additional snow to parts of our area for the middle of next week with maybe a third system for late next week/next weekend? Looks like the arctic air will retreat back into Western-Northern Canada during this period so we shouldn't have to deal with any bitter cold outbreaks as we close out the month of January.

5 DAY FORECAST FOR DULUTH/SUPERIOR

.Tonight...  Bitterly cold.  Breezy with areas of blowing snow.  Flurries before Midnight.  Partly to mostly cloudy.  Low 12 below to 17 below.  Wind northwest at 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 25 mph.  Wind chills of 25 below to 35 below.

.Thursday...  Frigid.  Mostly sunny.  High 1 below to 6 below.  Wind west to northwest at 10 to 15 mph.  Wind chills of 25 below to 35 below during the Morning.

.Thursday Night...  Partly cloudy.  Low 10 below to 15 below.  Wind west at 5 to 10 mph.

.Friday...  Partly sunny.  High 5 to 10.

.Friday Night...  Partly to mostly cloudy.  Low 7 below to 12 below.

.Saturday...  Partly sunny.  High 10 to 15.

.Saturday Night...  Mostly cloudy.  Low 5 to 10.

.Sunday...  Mostly cloudy.  Snow possible.  High 23 to 28.  Chance of snow 40%.

Normal temperatures for Tomorrow

High:  19
Low:    1

Sunrise Thursday:  7:47 AM CST
Sunset Thursday:   4:52 PM CST

Tim