Old Man Winter returns as the new year begins this week

After a mild weekend, Old Winter has reawakened and will bring back winter temperatures, as will the New Year creatures. We’ll see temperatures drop from last weekend’s high 40s to highs in the single digits next week as a cold front moves through the area to close out 2024.

Temperatures will begin to drop this afternoon with slightly cooler highs. This means that cold air is now moving over land that has warmed from the warmer temperatures late last week and over the past weekend. More areas of thick, dense fog are expected at times as the cold air moves in.

This week has started with very thick fog, leading to a Dense Fog Warning in effect until 12pm today. Fog may linger after 12:00, but it will not be thick enough to warrant a dense fog warning for the area. If the fog does remain on the thicker side for parts of the area, the Dense Fog Warning may be extended (in time) for those areas. The fog is expected to linger due to very light winds and thick clouds overhead.

With the humidity we have in the area (fog and wet conditions as dew points and temps are about the same) and temperatures this morning in the 20’s to 30’s, some roads are very slippery with a thin layer of ice forming. This leads to dangerous driving conditions in addition to reduced visibility due to fog around. Anyone driving today is advised to plan for minor delays, allow extra travel time, slow down, take extra care and drive with your headlights on ALL DAY so you can be seen by others on the road.

Despite cloudy skies, temperatures are expected to hover in the low 30s this afternoon with light winds up to 10 mph. Parts of southwest Minnesota and northwest Iowa may see light rain and snow in the late morning and early afternoon. before transitioning to light snow by this evening when temperatures begin to drop back below freezing. As temperatures drop, expect patches of ice to form due to the wet/humid conditions we are dealing with around here. This will likely lead to some hazardous driving conditions in the area tonight and tomorrow morning as temperatures drop into the mid 20s.

On Tuesday it will be cloudy with clearing. Temperatures will indicate a cooling trend with highs expected to reach 20 degrees, with winds increasing to 20 mph and gusts to 30 mph at times. Tomorrow night will continue to be cloudy as temperatures drop into the mid-teens by Wednesday morning.

We will welcome the New Year coolly with temperatures slightly below average. During the first half of the day, we will see a combination of sunshine and clouds, and by noon the temperature will rise to 20 degrees. Winds will remain light at 15 mph with gusts as high as 25 mph. With this wind, it will likely be more like the lows and single digits across the area due to the wind chill values. Wednesday night will be mostly cloudy again as temperatures drop into the single digits by Thursday morning.

Temperatures will remain on the warmer side after Wednesday, with below-average highs continuing into next week.

Thursday and Friday will be partly cloudy and mostly sunny, respectively. Temperatures will hover in the mid-teens on Thursday and into the mid-range on Friday afternoon. Winds will remain light at 15 mph with gusts as high as 20 mph. Because of that breeze, both days are probably more like single digits outside because of the wind chill values. Nighttime temperatures will be even worse, with both nights expected to dip into the single digits as skies fluctuate between partly cloudy and mostly clear.

Next weekend (Saturday and Sunday) will remain on the bitter side. We are seeing increasing clouds throughout Saturday, with skies becoming mostly cloudy as time goes on. From there, the sky will remain fairly cloudy throughout Sunday. On Saturday and Sunday, the temperature will hover around zero. Winds will continue to reach 15 mph throughout the weekend, with occasional gusts up to 25 mph possible. With this wind, wind chill values are likely to range from below zero to the positive single digits. The region could see some light snow Saturday night as temperatures drop into the single digits by Sunday morning. This light snow will become more noticeable across the area through Sunday, with possible accumulation late Sunday night as temperatures drop into the single digits by Monday morning. The snow is expected to end after midnight Sunday.

The first half of next week will see mostly cloudy skies over the region on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Highs are expected to reach lows on Monday, with lows expected to drop into the single digits on Tuesday and Wednesday. We are currently not expecting any chance of precipitation (snow) early next week after the snow we may see on Sunday. Overnight temperatures will be even colder as they are forecast to drop into the single digits by Tuesday morning and fall below freezing by Wednesday and Thursday morning.

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