Heavy Lake Effect Snow Downwind of Lakes Erie and Ontario; Fire Weather Concerns in the Southern Plains and Southeast

A multi-day heavy lake effect snow event is expected downwind of Lakes Erie and Ontario through New Year's Day. There is increasing confidence in snow squalls causing bursts of snow & gusty winds on New Year's Eve. Elevated fire weather conditions will continue today over parts of the Southern Plains and across much of the Southeast U.S. Read More >

The very cold weather pattern the Northland experienced during December 2013 will continue into the first half of January 2014. The forecast calls for near-record low temperatures across the region through at least Wednesday.

Tips for staying SAFE in the EXTREME COLD

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Listing of 24-hour Lows and Minimum Wind Chills (Tuesday, January 7th)
View as pdf	View as image

The graphics below are North American maps of the observed temperature. Notice the arctic air (shown in pink/purple) sitting over the Northwest Territories of Canada on Saturday made a push into the borderland by Sunday morning. This air mass will continue to sink across much of the upper midwest early this week.

Observed Morning Temps January 4th

Observed Morning Temps January 5th

The following are listings of various temperature records at Duluth, International Falls and Embarrass, MN.

At Duluth, MN:

List of Daily Temperatures so far this month

*Record Cold, Minimum* Temperatures**	Observed 2014
January 1st: -30 F in 1974	-19 F
January 2nd: -41 F in 1885	-21 F
January 3rd: -30 F in 1911	-17 F
January 4th: -30 F in 1884	-17 F
January 5th: -32 F in 1912	-24 F
January 6th: -34 F in 1909	-28 F
January 7th: -36 F in 1912	-24 F
January 8th: -31 F in 1974	-18 F
January 9th: -38 F in 1875	-11 F

*Record Cold, Maximum* Temperatures**	Observed 2014
January 5th: -22 F in 1912	-9 F
January 6th: -20 F in 1968	-15 F
January 7th: -17 F in 1912	-5 F
January 8th: -9 F in 1980	0 F

Top 10 Coldest Min Temperatures (1874-2013)
Rank Value Date 1 -41 1/2/1885 -39 2/2/1996 -39 1/15/1972 4 -38 1/17/1982 -38 1/14/1965 -38 1/23/1935 -38 1/9/1875 8 -37 1/28/1966 -37 1/24/1904 10 -36 1/10/1912

Top 10 Coldest Max Temperatures (1874-2013)
Rank Value Date 1 -22 1/9/1982 -22 1/5/1912 3 -21 2/2/1996 -21 1/18/1994 -21 1/14/1972 6 -20 1/19/1985 -20 1/16/1982 -20 1/6/1968 -20 1/22/1936 -20 1/24/1904

The period of record for the official temperature record at Duluth, MN began in 1874. The current observation site is located at the Duluth Airport (5 miles inland from Lake Superior and 600 ft higher than the Duluth Harbor). However, the site of the weather observation has been moved throughout the years and the climate data has been "threaded together. More information on Threaded Climate Data Here

Top 10 Coldest January (Average Temperature):
Rank Value Year 1 -7.2 1912 2 -3.2 1982 3 -2.7 1875 4 -2.6 1929 5 -2.1 1994 6 -1.9 1885 7 -1.2 1966 8 -0.1 1977 9 0.2 1972 10 0.5 1979

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At International Falls, MN:

List of Daily max/Min Temperatures so far this month

Record Low Temperatures	Observed 2014
January 1st: -39 F in 2014	-39 F * New Record
January 2nd: -43 F in 2014	-43 F * New Record
January 3rd: -37 F in 1984	-14 F
January 4th: -40 F in 1909	-14 F
January 5th: -40 F in 1909	-31 F
January 6th: -55 F in 1909	-30 F
January 7th: -54 F in 1909	-26 F
January 8th: -31 F in 1974	-28 F
January 9th: -38 F in 1875	-23 F

*Record Cold, Maximum* Temperatures**	Observed 2014
January 5th: -15 F in 1988	-18 F
January 6th: -29 in 1909	-19 F
January 7th: -17 F in 1968	-7 F
January 8th: -18 F in 1977	-2 F

Top 10 Coldest Min Temperatures (1897-2013)
Rank Value Date 1 -55.0 1/6/1909 2 -54.0 1/7/1909 3 -50.0 1/11/1909 4 -48.0 2/8/1909 5 -46.0 1/21/2011 1/6/1968 7 -45.0 2/2/1996 1/17/1982 1/15/1972 1/15/1909

Top 10 Coldest Max Temperatures (1897-2013)
Rank Value Date 1 -29.0 1/6/1909 2 -28.0 1/19/1985 1/14/1972 4 -26.0 1/27/1966 5 -25.0 2/1/1996 1/16/1982 7 -24.0 1/9/1982 1/28/1966 9 -22.0 2/2/1996 12/31/1967

The period of record for the official temperature record at International Falls, MN began in 1897. The current observation site is located at the International Falls, Airport. However, the site of the weather observation has been moved throughout the years and the climate data has been "threaded together. More information on Threaded Climate Data Here

Top Coldest Januarys (Average Temperature):
Rank Value Year 1 -10.5 1982 2 -10.4 1966 3 -8.7 1979 4 -8.0 1950 5 -7.8 1994 6 -7.1 1971 7 -6.5 1924 8 -5.9 1909 9 -5.8 1977 10 -5.7 1972

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At Embarrass, MN:

Record Low Temperatures	Observed 2014
January 1st: -43 F in 2014	-43 F * New Record
January 2nd: -46 F in 2014	-46 F * New Record
January 3rd: -46 F in 2014	-46 F * New Record
January 4th: -34 F in 2010	-7 F
January 5th: -43 F in 2005	-40 F
January 6th: -44 F in 2005	-37 F
January 7th: -42 F in 1996	-31 F
January 8th: -29 F in 1997	-34 F
January 9th: -37 F in 1999	-35 F

*Record Cold, Maximum* Temperatures**	Observed 2014
January 5th: -5 F in 1996	-15 F
January 6th: -7 in 1996	-19 F
January 7th: 0 F in 1999	-10 F
January 8th: -2 F in 2004	0 F

Top 10 Coldest Min Temperatures (1994-2013)
Rank Value Date 1 -57.0 1/20/1996 2 -56.0 2/ 4/1996 3 -55.0 1/31/1996 4 -54.0 1/17/2005 2/ 1/1996 6 -53.0 2/ 2/1996 7 -50.0 1/26/1997 1/23/1996 9 -49.0 1/25/1996 10 -48.0 1/16/2005

Top 10 Coldest Max Temperatures (1994-2013)
Rank Value Date 1 -29.0 2/2/1996 2 -25.0 2/1/1996 3 -21.0 2/3/2007 4 -18.0 12/23/2004 12/11/1995 6 -17.0 2/3/1996 7 -15.0 1/22/2013 1/29/2004 9 -12.0 1/16/2005 12/24/2004

The official NWS weather observer at Embarrass, MN (northern Saint Louis County) has been taking daily weather observations since 1994.

Top Coldest January (Average Temperature):
Rank Value Year 1 -3.0 2005 2 -1.1 2011 3 3.4 2007 4 3.6 2010 5 11.7 2012

Below are listings of observed temperatures and wind chills values across the Northland this January.
Note: These values are not necessarily the lowest values for the date.

January 1st, 2014

January 5th, 2014

January 6, 2014

Take a look back at the prolonged period of cold in the Northland December 2013

DLH RSS Feed

Heavy Lake Effect Snow Downwind of Lakes Erie and Ontario; Fire Weather Concerns in the Southern Plains and Southeast

Brrrrrr January Cold Records