Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Record warmth again Wednesday; signs of winter in 10 days

Highs in the 50s likely to set records again Wednesday across southern Minnesota

Forecast and record highs Wednesday
Forecast and record highs Wednesday
Twin Cities National Weather Service office

Here we go again.

Another wave of record-warm Pacific air blows across Minnesota Wednesday. This one will be warm enough to blow out some record highs across our region once again this week.

The combination of a mild Pacific air mass, bright sunshine, and bare ground is perfect for sending temperatures soaring on the last day of January 2024.

You can see on the map above that the Twin Cities is likely to blow out the previous record high for Jan. 31 of 46 degrees set in 2000 and 1995.

Highs all across southern Minnesota will reach into the 50s Wednesday afternoon. It could get close to 60 degrees on Wednesday along the Buffalo Ridge in southwestern Minnesota.

Forecast high temperatures Wednesday 2
Forecast high temperatures Wednesday
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

There’s a meteorological reason why the Buffalo Ridge can deliver the warmest air in Minnesota. A west wind blowing over the ridge descends, and adiabatic warming boosts temperatures in places like Marshall, Madison and Appleton.

Buffalo ridge warming
Buffalo ridge warming
National Weather Service office, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Temperatures cool slightly after Wednesday but remain well above normal with highs in the 40s.

Forecast high temperatures Tuesday
Forecast high temperatures Thursday
NOAA

The weekend brings another shot at 50 degrees in the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota.

Forecast high temperatures Saturday 2
Forecast high temperatures Saturday
NOAA

Winter weather on the horizon?

There are signs of a pattern change by late next week. A colder northwest flow across our region should deliver some seasonably average air masses to Minnesota. Highs in the 20s south and teens north look possible starting around Friday, Feb. 9, and beyond.

NOAA GFS temperature output
Global Forecast System temperature output Feb. 9-10
NOAA, via Tropical Tidbits

Winter may return for the second half of February.

Stay tuned.