Seasonably Cold - Meteorologically Boring

Winds gust to 30 today as the mercury approaches 30F by evening. 30s are possible Sunday, before another chilly correction next week. I suspect we haven't seen the last subzero low of winter just yet. Check the blog for more details. -Todd Nelson

February 15, 2022 at 3:30AM

Super Bowl LVI (56); 2nd Hottest on Record

The temperature at kickoff at SoFi Stadium was 82 degrees, which makes it the 2nd hottest Super Bowl on record.

Here is a list of the hottest Super Bowls on record:
Super Bowl VII - 1973 - 84 degrees - Los Angeles, CA
Super Bowl LVI - 2022- 82 degrees - Inglewood, CA
Super Bowl XXXV11 - 2003 - 81 degrees - San Diego, CA
Super Bowl LI - 2016 - 76 degrees - Houston, TX
Super Bowl L - 2015 - 76 degrees - Santa Clara, CA
Super Bowl XXIX - 1995- 76 degrees - Miami, FL
Super Bowl XXIII - 1988- 76 degrees - Miami, FL

Weather Outlook Through The Week Ahead

Here's the weather outlook from AM Tuesday to AM Saturday. Strong winds will develop on Tuesday with gusts exceeding 35mph as a clipper system slides across the international border. Meanwhile, a big storm system will develop across the Central US, where areas of heavy rain and snow will develop.

Weather Outlook From AM Tuesday to AM Saturday (Tropical Tidbits/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Tuesday Weather Outlook

The weather outlook for Minneapolis on Tuesday shows warmer temps in place with highs approaching 30F. Winds will be quite strong with gusts approaching 30mph to 35mph.

Tuesday Weather Outlook (Praedictix/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Meteograms for Minneapolis

The hourly temps for Minneapolis on Tuesday show temps starting in the teens with highs warming into the upper 20s to near 30F. Skies will be cloudier than they were on Monday with strong southeasterly winds up to 30mph to 35mph.

Hourly Temps & Sky Conditions For Minneapolis on Tuesday (Praedictix/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Hourly Wind Gusts For Minneapolis on Tuesday (Praedictix/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Wind Chill Values Tuesday

Feels like temps for Minneapolis on Tuesday will start in the single digits below zero in the morning and will only warm into the teens by the afternoon.

Hourly Feels Like Temps on Tuesday (Praedictix/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Weather Outlook For Tuesday

High temps across the region on Tuesday will be warmer than they were on Monday with highs closer to and above average across the southern half of the state. Areas of light snow will be possible in the northern part of the state.

Weather Outlook For Tuesday (Praedictix/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Highs From Average on Tuesday (Praedictix/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Extended Temperature Outlook For Minneapolis

The extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis over the next several days shows temps running closer to average on Tuesday with well below average temps returning on Thursday with highs only warming into the teens.

5 Day Weather Outlook For Minneapolis (Praedictix/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Extended Weather Outlook For Minneapolis

The extended weather outlook through the week ahead shows temps warming to above average levels on Tuesday before a bigger cool down arrives Thursday. There is also a chance of light snow on Friday, but the weekend looks quieter.

Extended Weather Outlook For Minneapolis (Praedictix/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Extended Temperature Outlook For Minneapolis

According to the ECMWF & GFS extended temperature outlook, temps will be warmer through midweek before a brief cool down on Thursday. Temps late weekend could be warmer once again with well above average temps possible.

ECMWF Extended Temperature Outlook For Minneapolis (WeatherBell/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
GFS Extended Temperature Outlook For Minneapolis (WeatherBell/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

8 to 14 Day Temperature Outlook

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 day temperature outlook shows above average temps across much of the eastern half of the nation with below average temps in place in the western half of the nation.

8 to 14 Day Temperature Outlook (NOAA CPC/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

8 to 14 Day Precipitation Outlook

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8-14 Day precipitation outlook shows more active weather across much of the nation, especially from the Southwest to the Central US and the Ohio Valley.

8 to 14 Day Precipitation Outlook (NOAA CPC/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Seasonably Cold - Meteorologically Boring
By Paul Douglas

We need a winter-equivalent term for Dog Days of Summer. Late Winter Doldrums? Hibernation Days? The coldest days and nights are behind us, but spring is nowhere in sight. Yes, this time of year can be a grind, especially when it isn't snowing much.

If it's any consolation long-range weather models predict a mild bias late February into early March, in fact most of NOAA's climate models forecast warmer than average temperatures for Minnesota March through May. Of course your results may vary.

The faster temperatures change, the stronger the wind has to blow to keep the atmosphere in equilibrium. Winds gust to 30 today as the mercury approaches 30F by evening. 30s are possible Sunday, before another chilly correction next week. I suspect we haven't seen the last subzero low of winter just yet.

Big storms pass south of Minnesota this week with a slight chance of a few inches of powder early next week.

A La Nina cool phase has lead to a real winter this year. It seems spring is in no great hurry.

Extended Forecast

TUESDAY: Cloudy and breezy. Winds: SE 15-25. High: 30.

TUESDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy and windy. Winds: WNW 15-30. Low: 18.

WEDNESDAY: Sunny with falling temperatures. Winds: NW 10-20. High: 23.

THURSDAY: Sunny and chilly. Winds: NW 7-12. Wake-up: 0. High: 11.

FRIDAY: Breezy and milder with flurries. Winds: SW 7-12. Wake-up: 10. High: 35.

SATURDAY: Clouds increase, flurries north. Winds: S 10-20. Wake-up: 2. High: 28.

SUNDAY: Cloudy with light snow up north. Winds: N 10-20. Wake-up: 26. High: 33.

MONDAY: Steadier, heavier snow may develop. Winds: NE 10-20. Wake-up: 13. High: 19.

This Day in Weather History

February 15th

1921: An early blast of spring weather invades Minnesota. Thunderstorms were reported across the southern portion of the state. Winona had a high of 67.

Average High/Low for Minneapolis

February 15th

Average High: 29F (Record: 63F set in 1921)

Average Low: 13F (Record: -25F set in 1875)

Record Rainfall: 0.87" set in 1967)

Record Snowfall: 8.5" set in 1967

Twin Cities Almanac For February 15th, 2022 (Praedictix/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Sunrise/Sunset Times for Minneapolis

February 15th

Sunrise: 7:12am

Sunset: 5:41pm

Hours of Daylight: ~10 hours & 28 minutes

Daylight GAINED since yesterday: ~ 2 minute & 55 seconds

Daylight GAINED since Winter Solstice (December 21st): ~ 1 Hour & 42 Minutes

Moon Phase for February 15th at Midnight

0.4 Days Until Full "Snow" Moon

"10:56 a.m. CST Tuesday, February 16th - Usually, the heaviest snows fall in this month. Hunting becomes very difficult, and hence to some tribes this was the Full Hunger Moon."

Moon Phase For February 13th at Midnight (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

National High Temps Tuesday

The weather outlook on Tuesday shows well above average temperatures returning to the Central US ahead of a major storm system that will bring severe storms to the Southern US and wintry weather across the Central US.

National Weather Outlook For Tuesday (Praedictix/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
National Highs From Average on Tuesday (Praedictix/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Severe Threat Wednesday & Thursday

A storm system develop midweek will be strong enough to create some severe weather potential across the Southern US. According to NOAA's SPC, there is already a highlighted risk of strong to severe thunderstorms highlighted in yellow on Wednesday and Thursday.

Severe Threat Wednesday (Praedictix/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Severe Threat Thursday (Praedictix/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

National Weather Outlook

Weather conditions will remain somewhat active across the Central US as a big storm system develops with heavy rain and severe storms in the Southern US. There will also be areas of heavy snow across the Central US and Great Lakes Region.

Weather Outlook Through Wednesday (NOAA WPC/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Extended Precipitation Outlook

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, areas of heavy precipitation will be found across parts of the Central and Eastern US.

Extended Precipitation Outlook (NOAA WPC/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Extended Snowfall Outlook

Here's the ECMWF extended snowfall outlook through the week ahead, which shows areas of heavy snow from the Central US to the Great Lakes. There also looks like to be heavy snow across the Rockies and the high elevations.

ECMWF Extended Snowfall Outlook (WeatherBell/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Climate Stories

(NOAA/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

"GLACIER STUDY FINDS EARTH HAS LESS WATER THAN WE THOUGHT"

"THE WORLD'S GLACIERS are incredibly important, especially as climate change continues to affect the world we live in. Glacier melt from global warming causes sea levels to rise and reduces the amount of accessible freshwater. Now a new study found that glaciers may contain less water than previous estimates suggest. This could mean less fresh drinking water supply for millions of individuals across the globe. WHAT'S NEW — Limited satellite data has limited scientists' ability to estimate how much ice is contained inside glaciers. A new study, published this week in the journal Nature Geoscience, used higher resolution satellite imagery to find that glaciers in key regions may contain less water than we previously thought. The researchers estimate the total ice volume in the world's glaciers is around 140,000 cubic kilometers. This translates to a 257-millimeter rise in sea level — 20 percent less than previously thought."

"Why Do Snow Piles Take Forever to Melt?"

"Those in snowy climates have grown accustomed to seeing great mounds of the white stuff shunted off to one side in parking lots and sidewalks. Even as the temperature rises and the sun peeks out, a curious thing persists: These snow mounds refuse to melt. They sit proud and dirty, like filthy little monuments to bad weather. Why? According to Boston.com, the stubborn snow mountains are resistant to nicer weather thanks to a combination of factors. First and foremost, there's latent heat of fusion, or the energy needed to turn water from a solid to a liquid. That's different from the temperature: For a huge pile of snow, you need energy (and time), not just rising temperatures, similar to how an ice cube won't immediately melt in your hand."

"Here's a good guide to the obstacles in climate change coverage, and how to overcome them"

"Wolfgang Blau, the co-founder of the Oxford Climate Journalism Network, discussed the findings of his research on media and climate change in a lecture last week at Oxford University, and published the remarks to Medium. (He was previously global COO and president, international, of Condé Nast.) "I am saying this jokingly, but there is a tendency amongst journalists — and this applies to me as well — there is a tendency amongst journalists to believe the answer to every problem that has ever existed is to produce more journalism about it," Blau said. Blau wanted to get a better understanding of the challenges journalists face in covering climate:"

Thanks for checking in and don't forget to follow me on Twitter @TNelsonWX

@TNelsonWX (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

Todd Nelson

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