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Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News
Paul Huttner

Off-the-charts warmth blows out numerous records Wednesday

Highs in the 60s in southwestern Minnesota

Record high temperature at MSP Airport on January 31
Record high temperature Wednesday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Federal Aviation Administration

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The warmest Jan. 31 in 150 years of record keeping in the Twin Cities blew out numerous daily high-temperature records Wednesday.

The Twin Cities topped out at 55 degrees Wednesday afternoon. That broke the previous record of 46 degrees by an astounding 9 degrees. Typically, high temperature records are broken by a degree or two. Breaking a record by 9 degrees is otherworldly for record margins.

Fifty-five degrees is also a whopping 31 degrees warmer than the normal of 24 degrees for Jan. 31.

Wednesday's record warmth was part of an unprecedented late January warm surge drifting northward from the southern Plains.

Temperatures Wednesday afternoon
Temperatures Wednesday afternoon
Oklahoma Mesonet

Records are still flowing into the Weather Lab at this hour.

Here are some notable high-temperature records for Jan. 31 (previous records in parentheses):

  • Twin Cities, 55 degrees (46 degrees in 2000 and 1995)

  • St. Cloud, 55 degrees (46 degrees)

  • Eau Claire, Wis., 52 degrees (47 degrees)

  • Brainerd, 52 degrees (48 degrees)

  • Rochester, 52 degrees (48 degrees)

  • International Falls, 53 degrees (45 degrees)

In addition here are some other notable temperature notes for Jan. 31:

  • International Falls reached 50 degrees for the first time on record in January

  • International Falls was 40 degrees above normal for Jan. 31

  • This was the third-warmest January day on record in the Twin Cities (58 degrees in 1944)

Warmest Jan. 31 on record for Minnesota

The mercury topped out at 61 degrees on Wednesday in Canby in southwestern Minnesota. I saw 60 degrees in nearby Marshall.

That’s good enough to set a new statewide record for the warmest January 31 on record pending confirmation. The previous warmest January 31 temperature recorded in Minnesota was 57 F in 1989 at Springfield.

Not the warmest January day on record statewide

While this was by far the warmest Jan. 31 on record for most of Minnesota, it was not the warmest January day ever recorded.

That spot still belongs to Jan. 24, 1981. The temperature hit 69 degrees that day in Montevideo in western Minnesota.

I asked MPR’s Mark Seeley and Kenny Blumenfeld with the Minnesota State Climatology Office about that day.

Okay, from the “light-blue bible,” which is the second edition of Mark’s Minnesota Weather Almanac, the highest January temperature on record for the state is 69 F in Montevideo on January 24, 1981. I just confirmed that with a query to the Applied Climate Information System also. So two top sources confirm that record. Also, the same day Canby had a high of 68, as did Redwood Falls. A slew of western MN stations were in the 63-67 F range.

Overall it looks like Wednesday will boost January’s temperature to around 6 degrees warmer than average overall for the Twin Cities.

We remain in a race with the warmest winter on record from 1877-78. February will decide if this is the warmest winter on record for the Twin Cities and much of Minnesota.

Fog overnight

A dense fog advisory is posted for much of Minnesota overnight into Thursday morning.

Including the cities of Willmar, Red Wing, Durand, Fairmont, Chanhassen, Hastings, Hutchinson, Stillwater, Minneapolis, Le Sueur, Redwood Falls, St Paul, New Ulm, Litchfield, Albert Lea, Eau Claire, Sauk Rapids, Waseca, Olivia, Shakopee, Faribault, Hudson, Monticello, St Cloud, Blue Earth, Gaylord, Blaine, Elk River, St Peter, St James, Owatonna, Chaska, Mankato, Victoria, Menomonie, and River Falls

202 PM CST Wed Jan 31 2024

...DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 9 AM CST THURSDAY...

* WHAT...Visibility one quarter mile or less in dense fog.

* WHERE...Portions of central, east central, south central, southeast, and southwest Minnesota and west central Wisconsin.

* WHEN...From midnight tonight to 9 AM CST Thursday.

* IMPACTS...Low visibility could make driving conditions hazardous. Freezing fog is possible in areas that drop below freezing, leading to slippery driving conditions.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If driving, slow down, use your headlights, and leave plenty of distance ahead of you.

Temperature the rest of this week will cool a bit, but still run about 20 degrees warmer than normal.

Forecast high temperatures Thursday
Forecast high temperatures Thursday
NOAA

Winter is still broken.