Short-lived moderation; another cold front on its way

Temperatures and wind chills over Minnesota set the bar high for the arctic blast in late February.  The winter chill penetrated well into the Mississippi Valley and Ohio Valley Monday morning.

Overnight lows in Minnesota included: 35 below at Cotton, 34 below at Embarrass and 30 below at Kettle River.

A push of milder air over the snow starved landscape of southwest Minnesota has launched temperatures from overnight lows below zero well into the 20s this afternoon. Unfortunately, a brisk wind gusting to 30 mph tempered the milder readings.

Marshall, Minn., was 9 below zero at 2 a.m. and by 3 p.m. the mercury had climbed to 27 degrees.

The visible satellite image from late morning nicely depicts the area of southwest Minnesota that is snow-free (the dark shade of gray).

Some light snow is expected to develop in northeast Minnesota tonight and spread southeast early on Tuesday.  Accumulations are likely to be an inch or less from Hibbing, Minn., through Duluth to Hayward, Wis.

To take your mind off the chill of this month, you can ponder the upcoming Twins' season as the team begins spring training at Ft. Myers, Fla., where the temperature reached 80 degrees this afternoon.

Unseasonably cold air will settle over a large swath of the nation as we move through the week.

Check out these low temperatures from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Global Forecast System model for Friday morning:

As we transition from the meteorological winter to March, I can't offer much in the way of a taste of an early spring.

Might be worth pondering a visit to the Twins' new Centurylink Sports Complex in Ft. Myers if you're looking to warm up.

If you prefer to be further immersed in the beauty of nature, you may be able to take in the Apostle Island Ice Caves this weekend!

Here's a statement that was released today.

The ice caves of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore could open this weekend if windy conditions don't spoil the fun.

About 90 percent of Lake Superior is now covered in ice, including the area that forms the path to ice caves near Bayfield, Wis. But what's not clear yet is whether that ice is stable enough for the thousands of visitors likely to come out to see the caves.

"The current plan is to check the ice on Wednesday and then we'll make the call," said Julie Van Stappen, chief of planning and resource management for the lakeshore. "If conditions continue, they'll be open, and we're looking at Saturday."