The Twin Cities are gearing up for a blast of winter mayhem, with today's forecast from the National Weather Service in Minneapolis predicting snowfall primarily before 3pm, accompanied by a high near 23 degrees and blustery conditions that could see wind gusts as high as 35 mph; they warn that visibility may be reduced and travel could slow down due to the blowing snow, detailed in a report from NWS. The situation intensifies as we head into the evening, turning partly cloudy and maintaining the blustery atmosphere with a low of around 4 degrees.
But it's the following days, starting Thursday through Tuesday, that the National Weather Service urges the public to take particular heed of, as much colder temperatures are expected to drop with wind chills reaching dangerous lows near 40 below zero, which could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes as quoted from an advisory also found on forecast.weather.gov; the service stresses the importance of dressing in layers, including a hat, face mask, and gloves if going outside, and keeping pets indoors as much as possible during this period.
The National Weather Service's projection moves colder on Thursday night with mostly clear skies but an astonishing low around -19 degrees, and wind chill values can plummet even further to as low as -39 degrees, while by Friday daytime temperatures scarcely climb out of the negatives with highs hovering near -8 degrees, creating an extreme cold watch from Thursday evening through Saturday morning for central, east central, south central, southeast, southwest, west central Minnesota and parts of northwest and west central Wisconsin.
Community members are encouraged to make frequent checks on older family, friends, and neighbors, and to ensure portable heaters are used with correct practices also, houses must not become silent tombs for the carbon monoxide that generators or grills inside can unleash, the entire list of cold weather advisements including details on how to protect outdoor animals by providing them warm, dry shelters, along with food and unfrozen water, are laid out in the extreme cold watch announcement.
