textproduct: Duluth

KEY MESSAGES

- Very cold stretch continues into Monday morning. Cold Weather Advisory now in effect for the entire Northland through Noon Monday.

- Light snow of one half to one inch Monday afternoon and night.

- Below normal temperatures thru end of January then near normal to start February.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 210 AM CST Sun Jan 25 2026

The Northland remains firmly under the persistent Arctic air this morning as air temperatures range from 20 to 30 below zero and pockets of wind chills down to 40 below zero. This keeps the Cold Weather Advisory in place.

Flurries have already begun this morning along the western Iron Range and down in the Brainerd Lakes. This activity is expected to spread further east towards daylight today along and south of the Iron Range in northern Minnesota and the stateline area of northwest Wisconsin. The flurries are forecast to end this afternoon, dropping south of the region. While most areas will see little to no accumulation, if a dusting is able to form then the Brainerd Lakes area is the most likely location to see that. High temperatures today will struggle to reach zero, with most of the region remaining in the single digits below zero.

While there will be a temporary reprieve from the absolute coldest wind chills and temperatures this afternoon, another night of extreme cold will occur tonight into Monday morning. For this reason, the ongoing Cold Weather Advisory was extended in time for all of the Northland until Noon Monday. Forecast air temperatures tonight will plummet between 15 and 25 below zero. While the current headline errs on the side of caution regarding timing of when the wind chills tomorrow morning will improve, the forecast does favor a bit earlier improvement by late Monday morning than the Noon hour.

A weak clipper system is still on track to bring a one-half to one inch of new snowfall from northwest to southeast Monday afternoon and overnight. We have upped baseline ensemble guidance for this system; despite low moisture levels and liquid equivalents of only a few hundredths, there is a high likelihood for this widespread light accumulation to occur. The lowest chances for seeing anything beyond a dusting with this Monday clipper are in the Brainerd Lakes area. With the clipper passage, shoreline locations in southern Cook County have a 50 to 60 percent chance of seeing wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph from the west-southwest late Monday afternoon through the evening. These strongest winds will depart quickly Monday night and shift to northwesterly behind the system. At this time a Wind Advisory does not appear needed given the core of those strongest southwesterlies remain over the open waters of western Lake Superior Monday evening.

Temperatures finally begin to moderate Monday night and into Tuesday. However, the region will remain around 10 to 15 degrees below normal for the end of January. A trend toward more seasonal temperatures is expected by very early February. No large or high-impact storm systems are currently in the forecast for the next week beyond the ongoing very cold conditions and the Monday light clipper snow. Localized mid to late week chances of snowfall may be needed for the South Shore in time if confidence increases in lake effect snow making it into the northwest Wisconsin snowbelts. The other very limited chance of precipitation to watch would be a clipper passing through the Upper Midwest and possibly (20-30% chance) bringing some light snowfall to somewhere in the ND/MN/northern WI region Saturday.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z MONDAY/

Issued at 1121 AM CST Sun Jan 25 2026

VFR conditions through the TAF period. Mostly sunny skies across the region with some lake effect clouds over Lake Superior and the South Shore. High clouds will start to roll in tomorrow morning and afternoon out ahead of a clipper system set to move through in the afternoon and evening hours.

MARINE /FOR NEARSHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR/

Issued at 212 AM CST Sun Jan 25 2026

Downslope winds tonight gusting to 30 knots prompted the Small Craft Advisories on the North Shore tonight, with the strongest winds occurring right along the shorelines. Southwest winds will increase Monday ahead of a clipper, with a Gale Watch in effect for the far northeastern nearshore waters for gusts up to 35 knots. Waves will build to 3 to 6 feet in the northeastern sectors by Monday evening. A period of Heavy Freezing Spray is possible in the Outer Apostle Islands and between Grand Marais and Grand Portage Monday afternoon and evening. Conditions hazardous to small craft from gusty northwest winds look likely even into Tuesday.

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 Monday for MNZ010>012- 018>021-025-026-033>038. WI...Cold Weather Advisory until noon CST Monday for WIZ001>004- 006>009. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory from 6 PM this evening to 10 AM CST Monday for LSZ140>143. Gale Watch from Monday afternoon through Monday evening for LSZ140. Cold Weather Advisory until noon CST Monday for LSZ142.