Temperatures plummeted to as low as 50 below zero in Minnesota on Saturday morning
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Updated: 8:45 p.m.
A weather station at the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness east of Ely saw temperatures plummet to 50 below zero on Saturday morning — that's the air temperature, not counting the wind.
The 50-below low was recorded at a station at Snowbank Lake off the Fernberg Road, about 25 miles east of Ely.
If verified, it would be a new daily record low for Minnesota for Feb. 13.
Data from the National Weather Service, retrieved through the Minnesota State Climatology Office, shows a previous daily record of 46 below zero set at Detroit Lakes in 1916.
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The overall state record low temperature in Minnesota remains 60 below zero, set near Tower on Feb. 2, 1996 — just over 25 years ago
Other locations in northern Minnesota saw low temperatures in the 40s below zero on Saturday, on what was the coldest morning yet of the prolonged deep freeze.
Duluth, Hibbing and International Falls each set record lows for the date.
Southern Minnesota saw overcast skies and some light snow, which kept conditions somewhat warmer than they would have been with clear skies.
Low-temperature reports on Saturday morning around Minnesota included:
48 below zero - Norris Camp (Lake of the Woods County)
46 below zero - Babbitt
45 below zero - Effie, Shooks
44 below zero - Bigfork, Kabetogama, Ash Lake
43 below zero - Celina
42 below zero - International Falls, Embarrass, Tower
41 below zero - Cass Lake, Cotton, Floodwood, Skibo, Lancaster
40 below zero - Crane Lake, Sea Gull Lake, Margie, Badoura, Lake Itasca
39 below zero - Hibbing, Baudette, Roseau, Waskish, Williams, Littlefork, Winton, Birchdale
38 below zero - Bemidji, Frazee, Kelliher, Park Rapids, Gatzke, Ely, Cook, Orr, Twig
37 below zero - Hill City, Eveleth, Emily, Saginaw, Wright, Mentor
36 below zero - Walker, Cloquet, Longville, Moose Lake, Beaver Bay, Fosston, Goodridge, Holt, Red Lake, Badger
35 below zero - Duluth airport, Detroit Lakes, Bagley, Brooks, Roosevelt
34 below zero - Brainerd, Perham, Greenbush, Gonvick
33 below zero - Grand Rapids, Thief River Falls, Pine River, Wadena, Ottertail, Ulen, Karlstad
32 below zero - Red Lake Falls, Staples, Mahnomen, Verndale
31 below zero - Hinckley, McGregor, St. Vincent
29 below zero - Parkers Prairie, New York Mills, Warren
27 below zero - Staples, Hallock, Sebeka, Argyle
26 below zero - Mora, Long Prairie, Fergus Falls, Crookston, Ada, Elbow Lake
23 below zero - Alexandria
22 below zero - Moorhead
20 below zero - Cambridge
19 below zero - St. Cloud
18 below zero - Benson
13 below zero - Redwood Falls
11 below zero - Lakeville, Litchfield, Faribault, Hastings
9 below zero - Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Mankato, Fairmont, Albert Lea, Willmar, Red Wing, Montevideo, Rochester
Winds were light across northern Minnesota on Saturday morning, minimizing wind chills. But the Cloquet airport recorded a wind chill of 55 below zero. The Duluth and Hibbing airports each recorded a wind chill of 48 below.
Wind chill advisories and warnings remain in effect across Minnesota this weekend — but there’s a warmup in the forecast for next week. Read more on the forecast in the Updraft blog.