No mercy from February as sub-zero cold strikes once again in Twin Cities

So much winter packed into such a short month.

February's delivery of one wintry discontent after another in the Twin Cities shows no signs of mercy, with the latest affront being a return to potential extremely cold weather before the next sunrise.

"Pretty brutal, that's for sure," said National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Brent Hewett as he scanned the date back where the metro has been and where it's going in the short-term.

The NWS is forecasting highs at times this week locked in the far-below-average single digits above zero and lows routinely dipping into negative territory. As of midday Monday, the temperature had yet to reach zero in the metro.

This follows temperatures in the upper 20s below zero early this month, followed by heavy snowfall last week that saw some parts of the metro buried in depths of 10 inches or more, enough to make this month the snowiest February since records have been kept.

Lows are forecast for the Twin Cities to flirt with 10-below as Monday night gives way to Tuesday morning. A bit more snow is expected Tuesday during daylight, adding still more to the month's record tally of 35.7 inches. This is also the sixth-snowiest month of all-time, with a couple more rungs upward within reach.

Still more subzero readings are anticipated for Wednesday night and Saturday night, when minus-10 on March 1 is not out of the question.

Adding insult to frigidity, last week's snowfall pushed the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul to declare snow emergencies, both taking effect at Sunday night.

Then starting Wednesday in Minneapolis at 8 a.m., after the snow emergency expires, winter parking restrictions take effect. Parking will be banned on the even-numbered side of non-snow-emergency routes until April 1, unless conditions allow the ban to be lifted sooner. These restrictions ensure streets are passable for emergency vehicles, buses and others.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482