Brian D

You can check the observations from the main MSP forecast area page. Or any forecast area page for that matter. Just click or hover "Current Conditions". Then "Observations". Map will come come up. Click on whatever station. The dialog box will come up. Click 3 day history, and you will get a graph with the text under it.

Low max records across MN/WI were either placed or tied 2nd or 3rd. 3 records broken/tied at Hibbing -11 (-7 1987), Wausau -14 (-6 1963), & Madison tied -9 with 1936/63. Now lets see what tomorrow morning brings.

January 23 1963: A record low of -31 is set at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. For Friday, January 23, 2026 1780 - The coldest day of the coldest month of record in the northeastern U.S. A British Army thermometer in New York City registered a reading of 16 degrees below zero. During that infamous hard winter the harbor was frozen solid for five weeks, and the port was cut off from sea supply. (David Ludlum) 1971 - The temperature at Prospect Creek, AK, plunged to 80 degrees below zero, the coldest reading of record for the United States. (David Ludlum) 1987 - Strong winds ushered bitterly cold air into the north central U.S., and produced snow squalls in the Great Lakes Region. Snowfall totals in northwest Lower Michigan ranged up to 17 inches in Leelanau County. Wind chill temperatures reached 70 degrees below zero at Sault Ste Marie MI and Hibbing MN. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1988 - Northeastern Colorado experienced its most severe windstorm in years. A wind gust to 92 mph was recorded at Boulder CO before the anenometer blew away, and in the mountains, a wind gust to 120 mph was reported at Mines Peak. The high winds blew down a partially constructed viaduct east of Boulder, as nine unanchored concrete girders, each weighing forty-five tons, were blown off their supports. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1989 - Low pressure brought heavy snow to Wyoming, with 18 inches reported at the Shoshone National Forest, and 17 inches in the Yellowstone Park area. Gunnison CO, with a low of 19 degrees below zero, was the cold spot in the nation for the twelfth day in a row. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1990 - A Pacific cold front brought strong and gusty winds to the northwestern U.S. Winds in southeastern Idaho gusted to 62 mph at Burley. Strong winds also prevailed along the eastern slopes of the northern and central Rockies. Winds in Wyoming gusted to 74 mph in Goshen County. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

My Dr. told me once that N folks are a hearty bunch. Our bodies are tuned to rapid changes, so we adjust quickly. After this cold, 30 will feel like t-shirt wx. While 30 in the Fall warrants a winter coat.

Well, to put plainly n succinctly, when you have the upper atmosphere sitting on the ground, you don't have the different profiles for the sound waves to pass through. Clean shot.

Windchill hit -52 this morning at the TH arpt. The gusts are briefly bringing values to around -60 to -65. Here are the charts for the new n old windchill values. For us older folks, need both for reference

Gonna suck when they have to make some of that up. Back in the day, we had a bad year, and Spring vacation got cut short. Schools are required to have so many days in a year. Unless they have an online set up that qualifies.

Morning lows across MN/WI were top 3-5 with some falling just short. Very significant cold wave. We shall see how the low max's pan out today.

Big winner this morning is Cook arpt on the N side of the Iron Range. -33 at 0655 to -38 at 0735. Winds went calm. -20's on the shore to -30's inland. Temps would have been colder except for the wind. Cook is the exception with my spot checking. Tomorrow a.m. should be calm across the board.

Temps already -20's with -10's along shore in my area. It's nasty.

Temps have started falling around noon.

January 22 1982: The Twin Cities receive 21.1 inches of snow, with a total of nearly 40 inches on the ground. 1936: Perhaps the coldest wind chill the Twin Cities has ever seen occurs on this day; it hits -67 with the new wind chill formula (-87 with the old formula). The temperature was -34 with a wind speed of 20mph. All traffic in the Twin Cities was severely hampered and a number of fatalities were caused by the cold. For Thursday, January 22, 2026 1943 - Chinook winds during the early morning hours caused the temperature at Spearfish SD to rise from 4 below zero to 45 above in just two minutes, the most dramatic temperature rise in world weather records. An hour and a half later the mercury plunged from 54 above to 4 below zero in twenty-seven minutes. (David Ludlum) 1987 - A winter storm spread snow from central Mississippi through northern Georgia to New England. Up to 15 inches of snow fell across the heavily populated areas of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Traffic tie-ups nearly paralyzed the Washington D.C. area. Winds gusted to 76 mph at Chatham MA, and in Pennsylvania, snowfall totals ranged up to 21 inches at Dushore. Williamsport PA received five inches of snow in just one hour. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1988 - The nation was free of winter storms for a day, however, winds in southern California gusted to 80 mph in the Grapevine area of the Tehachapi Mountains, and winds along the eastern slopes of the Rockies reached 100 mph in the Upper Yellowstone Valley of Montana. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1989 - Low pressure brought heavy rain and gale force winds to Florida. Daytona Beach was drenched with 5.48 inches of rain in 24 hours to establish a January record for that location, and winds at Titusville FL gusted to 63 mph. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1990 - It was a very tame and peaceful mid winter day. Mild weather prevailed across the nation, with rain and snow primarily confined to the northeastern U.S. and the Pacific Northwest. Warm weather continued in Florida. Highs of 83 degrees at Hollywood and 85 degrees at Miami were records for the date. (National Weather Summary) 2000 - A severe ice storm hit northern Georgia and portions of northwest South Carolina on January 22-23. Over half a million utility customers were without power during and after the storm, with the Atlanta area severely affected. 2005 - A major winter snowstorm, referred to as the Blizzard of 2005, affected the Northeastern United States. More than one foot of snow covered much of southern New England in the storm's aftermath, with well over two feet in some areas of Massachusetts. Strong winds created blizzard conditions with low visibilities and considerable blowing and drifting of snow. (NCDC)

Snug in the bed. I'll look at pics from the hearty

^prudent^

-10's this morning across the area with some -20's up around the Ely/Cook area. They will rise some, before dropping steadily later today. TH arpt had -11 at 0615, then dropped 4dF to -15 at 0655 under calm winds. Typical 3-5dF drop I mentioned before that happens near sunrise under calm winds.

January 21 1936: Warroad drops to a bone-chilling 55 below zero. 1922: The barometer at Collegeville hits 31.11 inches, a record high pressure reading for the state. For Wednesday, January 21, 2026 1863 - A severe coastal storm dropped heavy rain on the Fredericksburg area of Virginia. It disrupted a Union Army offensive in an ill famed "mud march." (David Ludlum) 1982 - The second of two major snowstorms to hit southern Minnesota came to an end. Minneapolis received 20 inches of snow in 24 hours to break the previous record of 17 inches in 24 hours established just a few days earlier. A record 38 inches of snow covered the ground following the two storms, with drifts ten feet high. (David Ludlum) 1985 - Three days of snow squalls at Buffalo NY finally came to an end. The squalls, induced by relatively warm water in Lake Erie, produced 34 inches of snow at the International Airport, with up to 47 inches reported in the suburbs of Buffalo. The New York "blizzard of '85" left many counties disaster areas. (19th-21st) (Weather Channel) (Storm Data) President Reagan was sworn in for a second term in the coldest Inauguration Ceremony of record. Cold and wind resulted in wind chill readings as much as 30 degrees below zero. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987) 1987 - Low pressure over Minnesota produced high winds in the Northern Plains Region. Winds gusted to 66 mph at Rapid City SD, and reached 70 mph at Belle Fourche SD. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1988 - High pressure over northern Nevada and low pressure off the coast of southern California combined to produce high winds in the southwestern U.S. Wind gusts in the San Francisco area reached 70 mph at Fremont. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1989 - Cold and snow prevailed in the northeastern U.S. Up to 13 inches of snow was reported between Woodford and Searsburg in Vermont. Montpelier VT reported a wind chill reading of 42 degrees below zero. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1990 - Unseasonably warm weather prevailed across the state of Florida. Eight cities reported record high temperatures for the date, including West Palm Beach with a reading of 86 degrees. Rain in southern New England changed to freezing rain, then to sleet, and then to heavy snow during the late morning. Most of Massachusetts was blanketed with 6 to 10 inches of snow. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

^WICKED^

Found NOAA's sounding page. Notice the difference in temps from what was on the Wyoming site. Strange. Yet this mornings sounding looks good. https://www.spc.noaa.gov/exper/soundings/

January 20 1982: Just over 17 inches of snow falls in the Twin Cities. Amazingly, it was to be outdone two days later. 1917: 16 inches of snow falls in the Twin Cities. For Tuesday, January 20, 2026 1937 - The wettest Inaugural Day of record with 1.77 inches of rain in 24 hours. Temperatures were only in the 30s as Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworm in for his second term. (David Ludlum) 1943 - Strange vertical antics took place in the Black Hills of South Dakota. While the temperature at Deadwood was a frigid 16 degrees below zero, the town of Lead, just a mile and a half away, but 600 feet higher in elevation, reported a balmy 52 degree reading. (David Ludlum) 1954 - The temperature at Rogers Pass, MT, plunged to 70 degrees below zero to establish a new record for the continental U.S. (David Ludlum) 1978 - A paralyzing "Nor'easter" produced a record 21 inches of snow at Boston, 15 to 20 inches in Rhode Island, and one to two feet of snow in Pennsylvania. Winds along the coast of Connecticut gusted to 70 mph. (David Ludlum) 1987 - Gale force winds lingered along the northern Atlantic coast in the wake of a holiday weekend storm. High winds along the eastern slopes of the Northern Rockies gusted to 67 mph at Livingston MT, and high winds in southern California gusted to 70 mph near San Bernardino. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1988 - A storm in the Upper Midwest produced heavy snow and gale force winds. Up to 27.5 inches of snow was reported along the Lake Superior shoreline of Michigan, with 22 inches at Marquette. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 1989 - The temperature in the Washington D.C. area warmed into the lower 50s for the Presidential Inauguration during the late morning hours, before gusty northwest winds ushered in colder air that afternoon. (National Weather Summary) 1990 - While heavy thunderstorm rains drenched the Central Gulf Coast States, with 4.23 inches reported at Centreville AL in 24 hours, unseasonably warm weather continued across Florida. Five cities in Florida reported record high temperatures for the date. Tampa FL equalled their record high for January of 85 degrees. (National Weather Summary)

If your interested in watching local school sports, you may wish to use this service. I watch my gson's games (football, basketball, etc). It's free, unless the school charges a fee. Here in N MN, webcams have been set up in schools over the last couple years or so, which is so awesome! I think colleges are in the mix too. https://www.hudl.com/

Was boiling water yesterday. This bitter air is desert dry. Some of you may wish to do that in the next days to keep humidity up.

There's always a silver lining somewhere

Found a -26 in Lind, WI, which is NE of Rush City, MN near the St. Croix river.

-10's to -20's this morning. -28 near Hoyt Lakes up on the Iron Range is the coldest I can find.

I compiled records for my area for the 23rd-24th. I'd say, as of tonight's model potential, that low max records have a good chance of falling. Friday am lows may reach top 5, but there may be a light wind keeping temps up a little with mixing. But with HP centered over the W Lakes Sat am, radiational cooling will drop temps under calm conditions pretty fast, especially at sunrise where a 3-5 dF drop could occur. If, perchance, the winds are calm Friday am, too, expect the same.