textproduct: Duluth

KEY MESSAGES

- Very cold wind chills of 25 to 35 below zero continue through midday today with Cold Weather Advisories in effect.

- An Arctic front arriving Wednesday afternoon will bring gusty winds and the start of extremely cold temperatures. This will be a prolonged period of extreme and potentially life- threatening cold through the weekend.

- Light snow and flurries are expected tonight and Wednesday with most areas seeing an inch or less.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 201 AM CST Tue Jan 20 2026

Very cold air temperatures are being observed early this morning with values ranging from 10 to 20 below zero areawide. Parts of inland northwest Wisconsin are even colder with temperatures down to 25 below zero. These temperatures are forecast to moderate towards zero closer to the Noon hour when the Cold Weather Advisory for all locations currently expires. Periodic clouds over the Iron Range and interior Arrowhead will bring flurries through the morning daylight hours today. This sky cover has temporarily moderated the coldest temperatures for those locations, but very gradual clearing towards sunrise is likely to still drop those down towards the low teens below zero air temperatures.

Light lake effect snowfall today persists for the Bayfield Peninsula where one to two inches is possible into tonight. While an approaching clipper has continued a slight trend southward, limited moisture is still expected south of US Highway 2 and may create a trace to a few tenths of an inch of light snowfall this evening. This will begin first in the Brainerd Lakes area then move into inland Wisconsin late this evening to early overnight.

The cold lasts through the week, but a slight reprieve begins this afternoon and especially Wednesday ahead of an incoming Arctic front moving over the Northland Wednesday afternoon. Northwest winds quickly increase Wednesday mid-day ahead of and along the frontal passage. These winds will combine with temperatures still in the single digits to low teens above zero to create wind chills of teens below zero by late afternoon and Wednesday evening. Associated with the Arctic frontal passage and low to mid-level forcing, a widespread areal coverage of light snowfall is expected Wednesday daytime, with many locations forecast to receive around 1 inch.

A Cold Weather Advisory may be needed starting Wednesday night in northern Minnesota for continued gusty winds and the next round of Arctic air creating forecast wind chills into early Thursday morning of 25 to 35 below zero in northern Minnesota and 15 to 25 below zero for northwest Wisconsin. The trend for a bit sooner onset of the coldest air has continued over the last 24 hours. This is represented in just one part of the forecast by the Thursday daytime temperatures now not expected to reach above zero except for parts of east-central Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin.

The most extreme and even more widespread and prolonged dangerous cold conditions are likely to begin Thursday evening and last at least into Saturday morning, and perhaps as long as Sunday morning. This period is very likely to see Extreme Cold Watch and Warning headlines at some point for all Northland counties as air temperatures approach 30 to 40 below zero and wind chills plummet to 40 to 55 below zero. These conditions represent the coldest air the region has seen since 2021. Below normal temperatures by 10 to 15 degrees will last into early next week even after the coldest airmass departs eastward Sunday into Monday.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z WEDNESDAY/

Issued at 1124 PM CST Mon Jan 19 2026

VFR conditions with clear skies are largely expected through much of the first 12 hours of this TAF period. There will be off and on MVFR stratus decks moving through the Range and Arrowhead into 12-15Z this morning and may affect HIB periodically. Lake effect snow showers will bring both MVFR visibility and ceilings to the Bayfield Peninsula and snowbelts into Tuesday daytime. A clipper to the south builds VFR ceilings back in 18Z and afterward through 00Z. As lower level moisture saturates areas in the far southern parts of the Northland around and after 00Z, BRD and HYR may see MVFR ceilings. A light dusting of snowfall is forecast though at least for those terminals to end this TAF period. A trace may also impact DLH and HIB as well though too so light snow was placed in those terminal TAFs too on the pessimistic side of this southern clipper.

MARINE /FOR NEARSHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR/

Issued at 205 AM CST Tue Jan 20 2026

West to northwest winds will gust up to 25 knots today and taper off last in the Apostles this evening. Small Craft Advisories remain in effect for parts of the North Shore through this morning and the Outer Apostle Islands until this afternoon. Starting Wednesday afternoon and lasting into much of this work week, heavy freezing spray will likely remain a concern from incoming gusty northwest winds strongest Wednesday evening through Friday morning.

For the open water discussion, refer to the NWS Marquette Area Forecast Discussion at weather.gov/mqt.

DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

MN...Cold Weather Advisory until noon CST today for MNZ010>012- 018>021-025-026-033>038. WI...Cold Weather Advisory until noon CST today for WIZ001>004- 006>009. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 10 AM CST this morning for LSZ140>142. Cold Weather Advisory until noon CST today for LSZ142. Small Craft Advisory until 4 PM CST this afternoon for LSZ150.