textproduct: La Crosse

KEY MESSAGES

- Bitterly cold conditions through tonight with wind chills between -25 and -35. Winds lighten up tonight which will help to raise wind chill values. Low temperatures tonight may be lower or higher than forecast depending on the amount of cloud cover. Current forecasted lows are between -15 and -30 across the forecast area.

- Continued cold for Sunday through next Friday. High potential (75- 95%) for hazardously cold (wind chills -25 or lower) conditions to return Sunday into Monday morning. At least a couple rounds of flurries/light snow, but timing remains uncertain.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 209 PM CST Fri Jan 23 2026

Today-Saturday: Bitter Cold for the Start of the Weekend

A surface high will continue to move eastward across the Upper Midwest today and tomorrow. Winds will diminish and become light and variable through Saturday. High temperatures this afternoon will only make it into the upper single digits to low teens below zero. As a result of the cold weather this afternoon and evening, a Cold Weather Advisory is in place for the entire forecast area through at least midnight. Counties in western Wisconsin drop off first as the surface high moves closer, keeping our winds light and variable and raising our apparent temperatures. The next group of counties will be in southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa as winds remain slightly higher than western Wisconsin, especially elevated areas. The Cold Weather Advisory here falls off at 3AM Saturday. The last two counties are Clark and Taylor where their Cold Weather Advisory goes until 9AM Saturday as actual air temperatures remain very cold even with the minimal wind. Wind chills for the rest of the day Saturday are mainly between -5 and -15 degrees as temperatures get close to above zero and the winds remain light.

With the area still under a longwave trough that is bringing down the cold arctic air, low temperatures tonight will be just slightly warmer than last nights low temperatures. Forecasted temperatures tonight are in the teens to low 20s below zero. The main difference tonight compared to last night is that there will be little to no wind to lower the feels like temperatures a lot. One thing to keep an eye out for is how far north some mid level clouds get during the overnight period. Depending on how much sky cover we have will determine how cold we can get this evening. To put into perspective what cloud cover could do to our temperatures, we can look at the NBM 25th and 75th percentiles which show about a 5 to 10 degree difference, for example at La Crosse these percentiles show either a low temperature of -25 or -15 degrees respectively. Even if enough cloud cover does move into the CWA, northeast Iowa and far southwestern Wisconsin would see the clouds first and therefore their temperatures would remain the warmest. Even a few extra hours of mostly clear skies with the minimal wind and snow cover will drop temperatures very quickly. All this being said, there is a small chance (10 to 30%) that temperatures could fall several more degrees for tonights low temperature. This temperature forecast will be one to watch heading into this evening and the early overnight to see if any updates are needed based on that potential cloud cover.

Sunday-Friday: Cold and Mostly Dry Through the Week

Heading into Sunday, the winds aloft shift to west-southwesterly allowing for high temperatures to get above zero for the entire forecast area, though still remaining in the single digits. Another shortwave trough comes down on Sunday afternoon brining another bout of bitterly cold air. Low temperatures for Sunday night get back down into the teens to near 20 below zero areawide. Winds do increase slightly, especially west of the Mississippi River resulting in wind chills to dip back down into the -15 to -30 degrees range. As a result another Cold Weather Advisory may be needed to address these wind chills. Using the DESI LREF probabilities for less than -25 degree wind chills, there is a 75 to 95% chance for this to occur across the forecast area.

Northwesterly flow aloft returns to the area on Sunday night and continues through the rest of the week. With this flow pattern, several shortwaves move through potentially brining some flurries and light snow. The first chance looks to be Wednesday but differences in timing and location are keeping PoPs below 15%. For the rest of the week, high temperatures remain in the single digits to mid teens with lows in the single digits above and below zero.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 1131 AM CST Fri Jan 23 2026

VFR conditions expected for the next 24 hours. While it's possible some scattered clouds may develop in the 020-030 flight level, we're not expecting them to reach BKN or OVC criteria. Winds out of the northwest will continue to come down through the day with winds becoming light and variable overnight.

ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

WI...Cold Weather Advisory until 9 AM CST Saturday for WIZ017-029. Cold Weather Advisory until midnight CST tonight for WIZ032>034-041>044-053>055-061. MN...Cold Weather Advisory until 3 AM CST Saturday for MNZ079- 086>088-094>096. IA...Cold Weather Advisory until 3 AM CST Saturday for IAZ008>011- 018-019-029-030.