How Close Will Saint Paul Come To Beating Coldest Day On Record?

SAINT PAUL, MN — The weather gurus warned the polar vortex, teaming with a wicked wind, would make it miserable in Saint Paul. They weren't wrong.

We'd ask "how cold is it in Saint Paul?" if a) it weren't such a tired joke and b) if we thought it was possible for you to manage the answer through your chattering teeth. Fortunately, we don't have to.

The National Weather Service has invoked frightful words and phrases such as "polar vortex" and "life-threatening cold" to describe the arctic air that settled over the Upper Midwest, including Minnesota, last weekend.

The blast of cold air moving north northwest by the weekend will keep temperatures below zero Friday, Saturday and Sunday throughout the Saint Paul area, according to the National Weather Service.

Snow is likely on Thursday, mainly after 12 p.m., according to the NWS. Residents can expect increasing clouds and cold, with a high near 2 degrees. Wind chill values are expected to be as low as -22. Friday's forecast calls for partly sunny skies with a high near one degree. There is a 20 percent chance of snow that night that may carry over into the weekend. Saturday's forecast calls for partly sunny skies with a high near -1. Sunday is expected to be mostly sunny and cold with a high near -2.

But is this the coldest it's ever been in Minnesota?

No.

Minnesota's record cold temperature was recorded on Feb. 2, 1996, when the temperature in Tower was 60 degrees below zero, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Center for Environmental Education.

See Also: The Polar Vortex Returns: Prevent Pipe-Freezing; Should You Warm Up Your Car?

That temperature record may not be broken in this blast of bitter arctic air, but the polar vortex is unusual because the frigid cold is expected to stick around at least through Valentine's Day,

A meteorological phenomenon that hasn't hit the United States since 2019, a polar vortex is a large area of low pressure located near the poles; and at times during the winter months, the low pressure breaks down, sending south all that bottled-up cold air.

The result? Extremely frigid temperatures and huge plunges of cold air.

This one is living up to its billing.

It has been frightfully cold over much of the north-central United States. On Tuesday, double-digit subzero temperatures were common as far south as Iowa, and the National Weather Service in Grand Forks, North Dakota, warned the frigid temperatures are made worse by a wind that may make it feel like minus 50 degrees through Sunday.

Saint Paul has reported lows around seven degrees this week while girding itself for even colder weather ahead.

Temperatures may struggle to make it above zero in many areas over the next week. The stretch of bitterly cold weather was expected to plunge every U.S. state, including Hawaii, below freezing.

Don't lose hope. Spring is coming, and summer after that — though now might not be the time to tell you summer can bring extreme heat to many areas of the United States.

But even if it does get that hot again in these parts, we won't be missing the polar vortex, will we?