Cold air is rushing in behind the storm system we had yesterday and the one passing a couple hundred miles to our south today. Temps will get into the teens below zero tonight along with NW winds 10-15 mph will create bitterly cold wind chills tonight and tomorrow morning. The worse will be to the west of STC, where parts of western MN will have wind chills -30 to -40 below throughout the night. Here in STC, we expect wind chills more like -20 to -35 throughout the night. Stearns County is under a Wind Chill Warning for tonight due to the -30 to -40 possible over the western half of the county (and us in the east have to put up with being under the warning even though ours may not reach warning criteria) — meanwhile Benton and Sherburne are under a Wind Chill Advisory for the -20 to -35 wind chills. Make sure you bundle up if you are heading out tonight or sending the kids to the bus stop in the morning. I do expect many school delays/cancellations in the morning, especially to the west. As per normal, I would hedge my bets that the STC school district won’t be delayed, but especially if we get into the -30s in the area I think it would be wise if they did. Wind Chill Advisories and Warnings stretch all the way to the Mexican border!!!
URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
301 PM CST TUE FEB 1 2011
…BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW TO PERSIST EARLY TONIGHT WITH
DANGEROUS WIND CHILL READINGS TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING…
.A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW HAS BEEN
EXTENDED THROUGH EARLY TONIGHT FOR FAR SOUTHERN MINNESOTA. THE
ADVISORY AREA STRETCHES FROM ST JAMES THROUGH MANKATO TO OWATONNA
ON SOUTHWARD INTO NORTHERN IOWA. NORTHERLY WINDS NEAR 20 MPH WILL
PERSIST EARLY TONIGHT ACROSS THE ADVISORY AREA…CAUSING
CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. VISIBILITIES WILL BE
REDUCED TO UNDER A MILE AT TIMES…WITH TEMPORARY WHITEOUT
CONDITIONS POSSIBLE. EAST TO WEST ORIENTATED ROADS…LIKE
INTERSTATE 90…WILL EXPERIENCE THE WORST DRIFTING AND MOTORISTS
MAY ENCOUNTER DIFFICULT TRAVEL CONDITIONS. MOTORISTS SHOULD ALLOW
FOR EXTRA TRAVEL TIME TO REACH THEIR DESTINATION.
IN ADDITION…A WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR TONIGHT
AND WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR AREAS OF WEST CENTRAL…CENTRAL AND
SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA. THE WIND CHILL WARNING AREA IS GENERALLY
ALONG AND WEST OF A LINE FROM STAPLES TO LITCHFIELD TO FAIRMONT. A
WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY
MORNING FOR AREAS OF EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA…
INCLUDING THE TWIN CITIES METROPOLITAN AREA.
THE COMBINATION OF COLD TEMPERATURES TONIGHT AND WIND SPEEDS
HOLDING IN THE 10 TO 20 MPH RANGE…WILL DRIVE WIND CHILL
READINGS DOWN TO THE 30 BELOW TO 40 BELOW ZERO RANGE IN THE WIND
CHILL WARNING AREA. WIND CHILL READINGS OF 20 BELOW TO 30 BELOW
ZERO ARE EXPECTED IN THE WIND CHILL ADVISORY AREA. WHEN VENTURING
OUTDOORS TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY…MAKE SURE TO COVER AS MUCH FLESH
AS POSSIBLE.
MNZ041-042-048-049-057-058-020515-
/O.CON.KMPX.WC.W.0001.110202T0300Z-110202T1800Z/
DOUGLAS-TODD-POPE-STEARNS-KANDIYOHI-MEEKER-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…ALEXANDRIA…LONG PRAIRIE…GLENWOOD…
ST. CLOUD…WILLMAR…LITCHFIELD
301 PM CST TUE FEB 1 2011
…WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO
NOON CST WEDNESDAY…
A WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO
NOON CST WEDNESDAY.
* TIMING…DANGEROUS WIND CHILL VALUES DEVELOPING THIS EVENING
AND LASTING THROUGH NOON ON WEDNESDAY.
* MAIN IMPACT…WIND CHILL VALUES FROM 35 BELOW TO 40 BELOW ZERO.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A WIND CHILL WARNING MEANS THE COMBINATION OF VERY COLD AIR AND
STRONG WINDS WILL CREATE DANGEROUSLY LOW WIND CHILL VALUES. THIS
WILL RESULT IN FROST BITE AND LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA OR DEATH IF
PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN.
St. Cloud Area Weather 