From NWS Duluth, MN, an old record beaten by five degrees:
RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
518 PM CST FRI JAN 21 2011
...RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE SET AT INTERNATIONAL FALLS MN...
A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF -46 DEGREES WAS SET AT INTERNATIONAL
FALLS MN TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF -41 SET IN 1954.
Here is a map (above) of a few notable low temperatures across the area. The contoured shading in the background was created by interpolating the observations using GIS software. Therefore, the contours may not necessarily match individual observations, but the overall trend in temperatures is pretty close. Areas near Lake Superior managed to stay much warmer than outlying areas, and you can even detect a hint of urban heat influences around the Twin Cities.
The above pictures are from Babbitt, Minnesota where a frigid morning low temperature of -46 degrees was recorded on January 21, 2011. The pictures were taken by observer Ryan Scharber. The pictures show ice fog, which is usually a shallow fog consisting of suspended ice crystals. Ice fog usually only occurs when temperatures fall below -22 degrees Fahrenheit (-30 Celsius) according to the AMS Glossary. Normally, fog consists of tiny water droplets, or supercooled water droplets. However, when temperatures are as cold as they were this morning in parts of northern Minnesota, it becomes too cold for liquid water to exist, and small ice crystals can develop if the amount of water vapor in the air is sufficient.
Some notes of interest:
- The lowest temperatures recorded in the NWS Duluth county warning area were -46 degrees at both International Falls, MN (ASOS) and Babbitt, MN (CO-OP).
- The -46 degree low was tied for the 5th lowest on record at International Falls. Temperature records date back to 1897. The record is -55 degrees which was recorded on January 6, 1909.
- The -46 degree low was tied for the lowest on record at the International Falls Airport. The official observing station was moved to the airport in 1939. This is tied with the -46 degree reading from January 6, 1968.
- The -25 degree low at Duluth is tied for the 5th lowest minimum temperature in the last decade (since 2000). The lowest minimum temperature of the 2000s thus far has been -30 on January 29, 2004.
- The state record low temperature in Minnesota was recorded at Tower, Minnesota on February 2, 1996. The low was -60 degrees. That was also the coldest temperature ever recorded east of the Mississippi River.
- The state record low temperature in Wisconsin was recorded at Couderay on February 2nd and February 4th of 1996. The temperatures dipped down to -55 degrees both nights.
List Of Coldest Morning Lows
THE FOLLOWING ARE OBSERVED LOW TEMPERATURES THROUGH 900 AM FRIDAY JANUARY 21 2011. TEMPERATURES ARE IN DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. TEMP LOCATION ST COUNTY SOURCE ---- ----------------------- -- -------------- ------- -46 INTERNATIONAL FALLS MN KOOCHICHING ASOS -46 BABBITT MN ST LOUIS COOP -43 EMBARRASS MN ST LOUIS COOP -43 BIGFORK MN ITASCA RAWS -43 ASH LAKE MN ST LOUIS MNDOT -43 EFFIE MN ITASCA RAWS -40 LITTLEFORK MN KOOCHICHING COOP -40 BIRCHDALE MN KOOCHICHING MNDOT TEMP LOCATION ST COUNTY SOURCE ---- ----------------------- -- -------------- ------- -39 ORR MN ST LOUIS RAWS -38 MINONG WI WASHBURN RAWS -38 CASS LAKE MN CASS RAWS -38 SQUAW LAKE MN ITASCA MNDOT -38 CUTFOOT MN ITASCA RAWS -38 BOVEY MN ITASCA PRIVATE -38 KABETOGAMA MN ST LOUIS COOP -38 CRANE LAKE MN ST LOUIS AWOS -37 MARGIE MN KOOCHICHING MNDOT -37 HILL CITY MN ITASCA RAWS -37 ELY MN ST LOUIS RAWS -37 RICE LAKE MN AITKIN RAWS -36 LONG LAKE MN ITASCA PRIVATE -36 JACOBSON MN AITKIN MNDOT -36 BARNES WI BAYFIELD RAWS -36 COTTON MN ST LOUIS MNDOT -36 MAKINEN MN ST LOUIS PRIVATE -36 LONGVILLE MN CASS AWOS -36 PINE RIVER MN CASS AWOS -36 SEAGULL LAKE MN COOK RAWS -36 WRIGHT MN ST LOUIS COOP -35 LAKE VERMILION MN ST LOUIS PRIVATE -35 KABETOGAMA MN ST LOUIS RAWS TEMP LOCATION ST COUNTY SOURCE ---- ----------------------- -- -------------- ------- -34 MCGRATH MN AITKIN MNDOT -34 ASH RIVER MN ST LOUIS PRIVATE -34 GUNFLINT LAKE MN COOK COOP -34 HAYWARD WI SAWYER RAWS -34 LIND WI BURNETT RAWS -34 MOOSE LAKE MN CARLTON RAWS -33 GRAND RAPIDS MN ITASCA AWOS -33 SAGINAW MN ST LOUIS MNDOT -33 COHASSET MN ITASCA PRIVATE -33 MCGREGOR MN AITKIN AWOS -33 AITKIN MN AITKIN AWOS -33 HIBBING MN ST LOUIS RAWS -33 JENKINS MN CROW WING PRIVATE -33 EMILY MN CROW WING MNDOT -33 BRAINERD MN CROW WING ASOS -33 MOOSE LAKE MN CARLTON AWOS -33 SOUTH RANGE WI DOUGLAS PRIVATE -32 GRANTSBURG WI BURNETT PRIVATE -31 SILVER BAY MN LAKE AWOS -31 TWO HARBORS MN LAKE AWOS -31 LEADER MN CASS PRIVATE -31 DEER RIVER MN ITASCA PRIVATE -31 SIREN WI BURNETT AWOS -31 GRANTSBURG WI BURNETT WIDOT -31 HINCKLEY MN PINE PRIVATE -30 BREEZY POINT MN CROW WING PRIVATE -30 TUCKER LAKE MN COOK PRIVATE -30 GLIDDEN WI ASHLAND RAWS -30 GORDON WI DOUGLAS RAWS TEMP LOCATION ST COUNTY SOURCE ---- ----------------------- -- -------------- ------- -29 I-35 MILE 198 MN PINE MNDOT -29 SEELEY WI SAWYER PRIVATE -29 4W CLAM LAKE WI BAYFIELD PRIVATE -29 CANOSIA TOWNSHIP MN ST LOUIS PRIVATE -29 GILBERT MN ST LOUIS PRIVATE -29 ISABELLA MN LAKE RAWS -28 10 NE DULUTH MN ST LOUIS SCHOOL -28 AURORA MN ST LOUIS PRIVATE -28 NISSWA MN CROW WING PRIVATE -28 MERRIFIELD MN CROW WING PRIVATE -27 SPOONER WI WASHBURN SCHOOL -27 HERMANTOWN MIDDLE SCHOOL MN ST LOUIS SCHOOL -27 HAUGEN WI WASHBURN WIDOT -26 DRUMMOND WI BAYFIELD SCHOOL -26 SUPERIOR WI DOUGLAS AWOS -26 PHILLIPS WI PRICE AWOS -25 FERNBERG MN LAKE RAWS -25 WASHBURN WI BAYFIELD RAWS -25 PINE CITY MN PINE SCHOOL -25 DULUTH MN ST LOUIS ASOS -24 DULUTH THOMPSON HILL MN ST LOUIS MNDOT -24 I-35 MILE 181 MN PINE MNDOT -22 HIGH BRIDGE WI ASHLAND PRIVATE -22 MAPLE WI DOUGLAS PRIVATE -22 BLATNIK BRIDGE MN ST LOUIS MNDOT -21 LESTER PARK / DULUTH MN ST LOUIS PRIVATE -21 SILVER CREEK MN LAKE PRIVATE -20 CHESTER PARK / DULUTH MN ST LOUIS PRIVATE
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BTW, International Falls holds the registered trademark of Icebox of the Nation
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Regarding the entire month below freezing in the Twin Cities, what do animals do for water when things never melt? Eat snow?
It’s even more amazing when you realize that all that cold air is coming from the Arctic, and the Arctic is melting, poley bears are dying, the tundra is thawed and leaking methane……………………
Kill the bears…
…save the seals
😉
-15 C just east of Guelph Ontario. Those east coasters always get the warm weather. And then the storms hahaha…
Never complain about the weather when you live on the east coast of Canada. It can only get worse.
I’m glad only the fringe lunatics fret over global cooling.
I just heard on ABC TV that the cold WEATHER in the East is being caused by (you could have guessed it) Global Warming and that this is the kind of winter we will continue to be having, because of Global Warming. I guess this Global Warming may also be the cause of the Little Ice Age that almost disappeared when the Hockey Stick was discovered. So when the La Niña goes away and winters are a little more mild, is that Global Warming too? Maybe all weather is caused by Global Warming and without it there is no weather at all. I should be given a grant to study this more.
Is there actually a falls in International Falls? And if so, what does it do when it gets this cold?
“Cold Arctic air over Northern Ontario will plunge temperatures down to the low minus thirties [celsius] overnight. These cold temperatures combined with northwest winds of 15 km/h will result in wind chill values of minus 45C to minus 50C overnight and early Saturday morning. Wind chill values will moderate later Saturday morning as the winds diminish and temperatures rise.” From the CDN weather site.
Diesels engines need to be kept running all night, that ought to send the greenies into a tizzy. Wonder how many frozen water pipes they’ll be? Even city water mains can freeze if this keeps up for an extended length of time. Not fun as this in turns can cause household pipes to burst as water can’t flow through and sitting water expands when frozen.
I recall a cold snap back in the early nineties in northern Ontario, when my then landlord asked me to leave my second floor bathroom tap on, allowing a trickle to flow all night to prevent freezing.
Seemed to work as the previous winter in a different location our pipes burst during the same kind of cold snap, when daytime highs hovered at -20C’s or so for a few weeks. BRRRRR!
FAR too cold for ice fishing for this pickerel lover. I’ll wimp out and wait for -15 C or better, and no wind.
I know wimpy-wimpy-wimpy, ;).
P.S. I lived in NS for a few years decades ago, they usually have milder winters compared to say ‘northern Ontario’ or QC and even NB – it’s just a fact that some don’t get or know it seems. What has become of our education system?
If it gets any warmer we will all freeze to death.
Iggy,
Yes, just like the West Antarctic Ice Sheet the alarmists are always hand-waving about. clicky
ldd says:
January 21, 2011 at 6:16 pm
FAR too cold for ice fishing for this pickerel lover. I’ll wimp out and wait for -15 C or better, and no wind.
I know wimpy-wimpy-wimpy, ;).
————–
Get’cherself a ice-house, by golly! I’ve used these, they are just amazing!!
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/travel/escapes/15icehouse.html
fistula says:
January 21, 2011 at 5:23 pm
What an interesting localised weather event.
==========
You might even call it inconvenient.
David70 says: Can your body tell the difference between 30 below and 40 below?
Well I’d venture that without clothing, nope.
😉
-46 at the airport, I would think it was closer to -50 in the countryside away from any possible Urban Heat Island influence. But there would be no official records for that, just folks looking out at their thermometers and staying safely indoors.
Well most of this week, parts of northern Canada have been the coldest place on earth. Beating both Siberia and this place – http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=-78.44999695,106.87000275
Though if you check the weather reports for Vostok on say July 4, it may amaze you to see temps below 100*C!
I’m originally from Minnesoooota, but now live in Florida. February, 1996, it hit -60 in Embarrass (Ohhh, the irony) at the NWS weather box (Ohhh, the irony) and they had a protable guage showing the same temperature. They then proceeded to walk about 200 yds to a hollow where it read -70. Yeah, it gets that good living in Minnesoooota.
Once, in my younger not so weathly days, I had to cut wood for warmth because the heating oil was getting low. So I cut wood in Red Wing with a high of -17. The activity kept me warm…….kinda.
littlepeaks says:
January 21, 2011 at 5:59 pm
Is there actually a falls in International Falls? And if so, what does it do when it gets this cold?
_________________________________________
Hopes for AGW……….silly rabbit.
David70 says:
January 21, 2011 at 5:35 pm
Coldest I’ve ever experienced is 15 below give or take. I couldn’t imagine it being any colder. Can your body tell the difference between 30 below and 40 below?
____________________________________
No…..numb is numb.
Yes indirectly. You begin to notice things that are markers of colder temps.
For example at about 10 deg F snow begins to squeak as you walk on it.
When you get down to -30 and colder even a slight breeze will freeze your eyelids shut if your eyes water and you hold them closed too long.
At those temperatures, you begin to notice infrared coming from objects that are not “warm” in the usual sense, as you walk by. You can feel the warmth of a parked car on your face if it has been recently running. You begin to notice air leaks in your clothing that at warmer temperatures are not noticeable.
Coats designed for seriously cold weather, often have flaps designed to cover the front zipper that are held closed by snaps or velcro. At normal cold temperatures they seem to be a useless accessory. At temperatures near -30 they suddenly become important as facing into the wind you can feel the cold air bleeding through the zipper, and even the stitching in the coat. That is why many arctic coats include a wind shell over the insulating coat specifically to stop that sort of cold air infiltration.
Near -40 common steel becomes brittle and subject to breakage under impacts it handles quite nicely at warmer temperatures. In Montana the rail road has to be careful about humping cars (building up trains and coupling them up by coasting the cars into each other in the switch yard), because the impact can shatter the couplers at those very cold temperatures.
It is said (I have not experienced it personally) that around -80 if you spit it will freeze before it hits the ground.
It is those sort of incidental observations that distinguish those intense levels of cold, and people that live in those environments all their life can often guess the temperature reasonably well based on those simple observations.
Larry
CRS, Dr.P.H. says:
January 21, 2011 at 4:54 pm
Ya haven’t lived until you’ve experienced a good old Minnesota winter, by golly! I loved it, when I lived in St. Cloud…the colder the weather, the better the ice-fishing.
__________________________________________
Ah yes, and the high pitched twangs and twongs of ice cracking from the cold……..and beer.
On Jan 1st we had a freak weather event blow through the twin cities I should have commented upon. We had a very brief rain shower at 17°F. I was out driving when a few drops hit the my windshield. I thought for a moment that this was salt water spray from the road, until a lot more hit and instantly froze. We were hit with supercooled rain that froze the instant it hit. My windshield was covered with ice within thirty seconds. The supercooled raindrops seemed to freeze and throw off shards of ice as they hit the road. Fortunately it was very short and it left a very rough pebbly surface on the ground.
This is what airplanes must face when they fly into icing conditions. I have never seen it before. That stuff is still out there buried under more snow and on top of the twenty inches we got for Christmas. It will probably be here until April.
“Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”
By the time Hansen and his NASA gang “quality control” and “homogenize” the numbers, the year 2011 in Minnesota will be one of the warmest years on “record”.
“There is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.”
John Ruskin
hotrod (Larry L) says:
January 21, 2011 at 7:01 pm
It is said (I have not experienced it personally) that around -80 if you spit it will freeze before it hits the ground.
___________________________________
In February of 1996, at the -60 record event, the TV cameras were rolling when someone tossed a cup of hot water into the air…….you could see it vaporize into a mist and then nothing. With single digit humidity……….you’ll have that.
Well I think this counts as an ‘extreme weather event’ and is therefore totally consistent with the predictions (usually made after the event) of (specially selected) global warming models.
I went to the website of the International Falls newspaper … and there really was nothing about the frigid cold. The just deal with it.
A newspaper poll found:
Cold weekend
It’s sub zero temperatures this weekend (Jan 22-23) in International Falls. What are you going to do?
Nothing, I’m staying home where it’s warm 17%
I’m going to do what I usually do, cold or not 45%
I’m going to embrace the cold & do something crazy outside 10%
I’m enjoying the weather where I live, NOT in International Falls 28%
No moaning and groaning as we do in the greater New York City area.
They just suck it up!
http://www.ifallsjournal.com/news
John McManus says:
January 21, 2011 at 3:44 pm
Here in Nova Scotia ‘pouring rain and everything is melting
Where in Nova Scotia? In Halifax it’s snowing right now. The high tomorrow is supposed to be 18F. Are you perchance in the southern Miami portion of Nova Scotia?