Unbearable cold takes over Minnesota on Friday
Dangerous cold has tightened its grip on Minnesota on Friday.
The entire state is under an extreme cold warning, according to the National Weather Service. NEXT Weather Alerts are also in place for Friday and Saturday.
Twin Cities residents are waking up to temperatures in the double digits below zero, with wind chills dipping as low as the 40s below zero. Frostbite can take hold in minutes in these conditions. The forecast high in the metro is 9 below zero.
The hazardous cold has caused schools across the state to close on Friday. It has also prompted CenterPoint Energy to urge its customers "to take quick actions to save energy, including temporarily lowering their thermostat settings, health permitting, to help conserve energy and save money." CenterPoint said the extreme cold will likely cause a "short-term rise in natural gas prices."
The company is asking customers to turn their thermostat down to 65 during the day when they're at home, "if possible," and lower it another 5 degrees when sleeping or out of the house.
"With home heating costs representing roughly 50% of a customer's monthly energy bill, this energy conservation step can limit the impact of higher natural gas prices on customers' bills," CenterPoint said.
We'll see slow improvements as winds ease later in the day, but the cold will hang around through the weekend. Highs remain below zero into Sunday morning, before a gradual moderation.
Next week will stay quiet, but cold, with highs mostly in the single digits and minor snow chances at times.
Overnight lows reached rare territory
Overnight, the Twin Cities hit a low temperature of 21 below zero — the coldest since Jan. 29-30, 2019, when the metro hit 25 and 28 below zero, respectively.
It's only been that cold (or colder) seven other times since 2000.
Plenty of spots in northern Minnesota saw wind chills of 50 below or colder overnight, including Duluth, Brainerd, Hibbing and others, according to the National Weather Service. Alexandria in central Minnesota and Owatonna down south also hit wind chills of 50 below.
The coldest wind chill recorded in the Twin Cities was 47 below, just before 4 a.m.
