textproduct: La Crosse

KEY MESSAGES

- Dangerously cold temperatures settle in tonight with the coldest wind chill readings Friday morning of -40 to -50.

- Very cold Friday as highs struggle to rise out of the single digits below zero, though decreasing winds and increasing clouds should result in a slow rising of wind chills values through Saturday morning.

- The pattern for the upcoming week is favoring colder and drier conditions and there may be periods in which cold weather headlines are needed, starting with Monday morning.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 130 PM CST Thu Jan 22 2026

This Afternoon: Light Snow Showers and Gusty Winds

Arctic air is streaming southeastward this afternoon with steepening low-level lapse rates leading to the formation of HCR snow showers upstream across Minnesota. These showers persist through the evening and then decrease after sunset as a 1055-mb high pressure builds in from the northwest. A tight pressure gradient up to 40 ubar/km coupled with these steep lapse rates have resulted in winds gusting to 30-35 kts and blowing around the falling snow and fresh snow pack. Visibilities where the snow is blowing could fall below 1 mile. Temperatures today have been steady and should begin falling before sunset.

This Evening - Early Next Week: Cold Details

Temperatures tumble this evening and while the showers should wane, the winds will be much slower to subside with the 5-6-mb pressure rise centroid centered right over the forecast area at 00Z and only slowly relaxing through the night. Winds should remain in the 10-20G25-30kt range into the evening and still be around 10-15G20kts by sunrise. Air temperatures upstream in northwest Minnesota and northeast North Dakota are already around -20 and this airmass is rapidly approaching on our northwesterly winds. All combined, wind chill values tonight sink to between -40 to -50 degrees, coldest in central WI.

Winds taper off through the day on Friday, but the arctic airmass will be firmly entrenched across the region and highs don't look to rise above -5 to -10 degrees. One of the bigger challenges to the forecast has been an increase in mid to high clouds ahead of a northern stream wave diving down across the Rockies. The combination of increasing clouds (preventing temperatures from falling) and near calm winds for Friday night into Saturday morning add a wrinkle to the forecast in that wind chill/temperature values under the ridge may not even reach advisory criteria. Have transitioned the watch to an advisory for the day on Friday as wind chill values slowly improve and then start to drop off parts of the advisory throughout the night as areas go calm, with only areas north of I-94 in central WI in an advisory through mid-morning on Saturday.

We see some "improvement" in temperatures into next week as the high pushes off to the east, but no matter how you slice the forecast it will be cold. Another 1035-mb arctic ridge builds in Sunday night and Monday morning and likely necessitate the need for another Cold Weather Advisory for Monday morning. Arctic air stays close at hand through the week with longwave troughing/cyclonic flow remaining in place across Hudson Bay. This arctic air looks to spill southward again towards the end of the week--but to what degree is less known.

The precipitation forecast for the weekend and into next week is quite dry with minimal impacts expected through at least the middle of next week. Can't rule out light snow at times, but these details will be ironed out in future updates.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z FRIDAY/

Issued at 1124 AM CST Thu Jan 22 2026

VFR conditions are expected throughout much of the TAF period, aside from some blowing snow resulting in patchy MVFR vsby reductions at times. Most vsby reductions from blowing snow will likely remain west of the Mississippi River. A brief period of MVFR cigs looks likely early this afternoon as winds increase, however this will likely be very short-lived. Otherwise, winds will be the main story as they will remain from the northwest between 15-20 kts with gusts to 30 kts throughout the afternoon and evening before gradually diminishing overnight.

ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

WI...Extreme Cold Warning from 9 PM this evening to noon CST Friday for WIZ017-029-032>034. Extreme Cold Warning from midnight tonight to noon CST Friday for WIZ041>044-053>055-061. Cold Weather Advisory from noon Friday to 9 AM CST Saturday for WIZ017-029. Cold Weather Advisory from noon to 9 PM CST Friday for WIZ032>034-041>044-053>055-061. MN...Extreme Cold Warning from 9 PM this evening to noon CST Friday for MNZ079-086>088-094-095. Cold Weather Advisory from noon Friday to 3 AM CST Saturday for MNZ079-086>088-094>096. Extreme Cold Warning from midnight tonight to noon CST Friday for MNZ096. IA...Extreme Cold Warning from 9 PM this evening to noon CST Friday for IAZ008-009-018-019. Cold Weather Advisory from noon Friday to 3 AM CST Saturday for IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030. Extreme Cold Warning from midnight tonight to noon CST Friday for IAZ010-011-029-030.