Douglas: The thaw is over — now comes the cold

Highs will be in the teens by the end of the week.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
December 29, 2024 at 10:24PM

I’m hungry. Thankfully I have two hands: one for the TV remote control, the other to manage food intake. I wanted the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, the Wasabi Fenway Bowl and a holiday highlight, the Pop-Tart Bowl!

Even the on-air analysts make me hungry. “Getting chippy out there.” “A stout defense.” (Suddenly thirsty.) “A cheese play?” (Defense caught off-guard.) Suggestion: The final bowl game should be the Ozempic Bowl, to help me shed those football-related pounds.

I will need my winter weight in the weeks to come. The coldest air of the winter will spill southward in waves, with highs in the teens by the end of this week, maybe a few single-digit highs next week as nights dip below zero. Not record-setting, but definitely cold enough to get your attention.

Invasions of polar air often spin up snowstorms, but I don’t see any big piles of frozen water looking out 10 days. Maybe a coating of flurries on New Year’s Eve, but pretty quiet overall.

January is our coldest month. Where DID I put the chips?

about the writer

about the writer

Paul Douglas

Columnist

Paul Douglas is a nationally-respected meteorologist, with 40 years of broadcast television and radio experience. He provides daily print and online weather services for the Star Tribune.

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