Yes, this is cold and we all know it. You've heard the stories from parents and grandparents though. It's not as cold as it used to be. And for the most part, that's been true. Minnesota has not seen the regularity of extreme cold like we're seeing now in the last 20 years.
Just how cold can we get in Minnesota? Is what we're experiencing this week as cold as it gets? The short answer is yes. This is about as cold as we can get especially for an extended period of time. Let's take a trip back in time and see how this cold snap stacks up against the rest.
When it comes to historically cold, most of us remember the morning of February 2nd, 1996 when Tower, Minnesota on the Iron Range hit 60 below, setting the state record. The Twin Cities hit -30 that morning prompting Governer Arne Carlson to cancel schools for the entire state. That -30 temp brought a windchill of -48 with it (under the new windchill formula, explained below). The coldest recorded temp in the Twin Cities is -41 on January 21st, 1888. Six days prior to that record low, the high was -20! When you hear someone reference "Pioneer Cold", this is what they're referring to.
Which brings us to windchill. In 2001, the National Weather Service modernized the wind chill formula, which is a combination of temperature and wind and creates more of a "feels like" temperature.
For example, the most accepted coldest windchill in Minnesota was on January 9th and 10th, 1982. Northern Minnesota saw temperatures of -30 with winds of around 40mph. That would translate to a -71 degree windchill in the new formula. Under the old formula, it was -100! As your mom would say, bring a scarf.
The coldest windchill seen in the Twin Cities came on January 22nd, 1936. The temp was -34 and with a wind speed of 20mph, we dropped to -67 windchill (-87 under the old formula). There were a number of fatalities that year caused by the cold.
The most recent cold that compares to what we have this week was the "Polar Vortex" winter of 2014. On January 6th, Grand Marais, MN saw 63 below windchills with a -31 temp. The coldest windchill in the Twin Cities was -48. Many schools were again closed across the state. Then we were hit again January 23rd with 37 below windchills in the metro. Park Rapids dropped to -51. January 27th, Grand Marais again dropped to the coldest in the state with a 53 below windchill.
Wednesday, when you wake up, it will rival the coldest days ever recorded in Minnesota. Temps in the Twin Cities could hit -30 with a -50 (or lower) windchill, which would make this truly historic cold. 40 below temperatures are likely in far northern Minnesota. It is probably going to be our coldest day since 1989 when we had a 49 below windchill, and we might break that!
Minnesota's Coldest Temperatures:
#10 - Roseau (February 2, 1996): -52˚#9 - Mora (December 18, 1983): -52˚#8 - Itasca (February 2, 1996): -52˚#7 - Baudette (February 19, 1966): -52˚#6 - Pine River Dam (February 12, 1912): -53˚#5 - Moose Lake (January 15, 1972): -53˚#4 - Fosston (February 1, 1996): -53˚#3 - Brainerd (February 2, 1996): -54˚#2 - Embarras (January 20, 1996): -57˚#1 - Tower (February 2, 1996): -60˚