Winds decrease into Thursday, bitterly cold until Friday, warm this weekend

Happy WINDY Wednesday everyone! The winds have been very gusty out of the northwest today, with most locations seeing gusts of over 50 mph! Mason City reported a gust of 54 mph, Owatonna 51 mph and Rochester 58 mph!!! These winds are near or above severe thunderstorm criteria! Crazy!

These gusty winds will continue into the evening and overnight hours, with gusts up to 50 mph through around midnight across most of the area. Wind gusts begin to diminish later tonight, down to the 30-40 mph range after midnight. A wind advisory remains in effect for all of southeastern Minnesota and northern Iowa through midnight tonight as well.

Snow is also falling in some locations, leading to reduced visibilities and some slick spots on the roads. You’ll want to take it slower on your evening commute if you encounter these slick/snowy conditions!

Temperatures are also quickly dropping across the area, as arctic air races in from the northwest. Temperatures will continue to plummet into the single digits tonight. With the high winds on top of these cold temperatures, wind chill values could dip as low as -15F through Thursday morning.

Temperatures only warm into the mid to upper teens on Thursday, with clouds decreasing throughout the day. Single digits lows are expected Thursday night once again, with wind chills near 0F.

Warmer temperatures and more sunshine arrive for Friday and the weekend! Highs will climb into the upper 20F’s to low 30F’s on Friday under a mainly sunny sky. Mostly sunny conditions continue into Saturday, with highs in the low 40F’s across the area! Balmy!

Highs will be in the mid 40F’s Sunday, with a bit more cloud cover during the afternoon as a frontal system approaches from the west. There will be a very slim chance for a shower or two Sunday afternoon through Monday as this system passes us by, but no significant precipitation chances are currently in the forecast.

We cool down by the middle of next week, with highs back into the 20F’s and a very slight chance of snow next Wednesday into Thursday. It certainly will be nice to have the brief warm-up after all the cold we have seen!