Cold Start t0 2014

Cold Start to 2014
By Todd Nelson

It was a memorable New Year's Eve for folks in the Midwest as extreme cold helped to close the books on 2013. The coldest temperature recorded across the nation AM Tuesday came from the small community of Embarrass, MN where the mercury dropped to a bone-chilling -43F! If you can believe it, that's still 17F warmer than the coldest temperature ever recorded in the state, which occurred on February 2, 1996 in Tower.

It'll be a cold start to 2014 as high temperatures struggle to get to 0F across much of the state Wednesday and Thursday. We see a brief and minimal warm up later this week as we limp back to the teens. Enjoy it because extended forecasts continue to indicate the potential of even colder air moving in by early next week!

The extreme cold continues to shove the storm track well south of us, so in the meantime, we'll continue with light snow and flurry chances through next week. The Northeast however continues their active ways with two potential snow events through next week.

I am starting to run out of Arctic adjectives to explain the cold weather; maybe I'll consult weather forecasts at the North Pole and get back to you. -Todd Nelson
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NEW YEAR'S EVE NIGHT: Chance of a few flurries in southern MN, still very cold. Low: -10. Wind: NNE 5. Feels like -25F

NEW YEAR'S DAY: Cold and mostly cloudy star to 2014. High: 1. Wind: NNE 5. Feels Like: -25F

THURSDAY: Increasing sun, still quite cold.Wake-up: -9. High: -1. Wind: NNW 5. Feels Like: -25F

FRIDAY: Warmer and breezy. Increasing clouds, light wintry mix developing overnight. Wake-up: -10. High: 17.

SATURDAY: Lingering AM snow. Icy winds return. Wake-up: 13. High: 15.

SUNDAY:Bitterly cold with a few flakes. Wake-up: -4. High: 8.

MONDAY: Flurry? Need more Arctic adjectives. Wake-up: -15. High: -7.

TUESDAY: High struggles to get to 0F. Wake-up: -16. High: 0.
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Minneapolis Temperature Trend
We're still at the bottom of the barrel through Thursday, but a brief warm up will take place on Friday/Saturday! Enjoy it before the next cold blast moves in late weekend/early next week.



Top 5 Weather Events of 2013
Thanks to Pete Boulay (MN State Climatologist) for putting this great list of 2013 weather events together, which was voted on by several people via Facebook:
Read More about the top 5 weather events HERE:

Top Five Weather Events of 2013 in Minnesota
Here are candidates for the top five weather events of 2013 from the Minnesota State Climatology Office. Do you agree? If you disagree with this list, please visit us on Facebook and post your top five weather events for Minnesota. There was no runaway favorite this year for the top weather event of 2013 for Minnesota. Cold and snowy won out over summertime storminess in people's memories for 2013. Votes were tallied from a sample of weather enthusiasts in Minnesota. Below are the top five.

#5 Southwest Minnesota Ice Storm of April 9-10
Devastating ice storm over Worthington and Luverne in Southwest Minnesota, freezing rain coated wires and tree branches up to 8 tenths of an inch thick. The City of Worthington declared a state of emergency and clean up took two and a half months. This storm caused 71 million dollars in damage.

#4 Lack of Tornadoes in 2013
While 2013 had its share of severe storms, tornadic activity in Minnesota was minimal. Only 15 tornadoes were reported in Minnesota in 2013, the lowest total since 1990. Not only was the tornado count low in Minnesota, it was also the lowest in years across the Nation.

#3 High Wind and Heavy Rain Event of June 21, 2013
The most damaging severe storm to hit the Twin Cities in 2013 was the high wind and heavy rain event of June 21. A complex of severe thunderstorms swept across the Twin Cities on Friday, June 21st in the evening and in their wake left half a million Xcel Energy customers without power. Wet soil from previously heavy rains allowed trees to be uprooted easily. Flash flooding also occurred with the heavy rainfall. A State Climatology Office Facebook user posted a video of the June 21 storm at Lake Calhoun.

#2 2013 Cold Spring/Late Ice Out
This was a very close to being #1. The effect of the cold Spring 2013 was an even bigger shocker because of the record early warm spring just a year before. Mille Lacs went from setting a record early ice out in 2012 on March 26 to setting the record latest ice out in 2013 on May 16. The late spring caused delayed planting of crops and gardens.

#1 Historic May 1-3 Snow
This snowstorm just clipped the Twin Cities. A westward shift of just 50 miles of the storm track and the Twin Cities Airport would have had a new May record snowstorm. It was a different story over southeast Minnesota where Rochester measured 14.5 inches of snow, which was all melted by the 6th of May. The 24 hour statewide daily snowfall record was broken with 15.4 inches at Dodge Center, the previous record was 12 inches set in May 8, 1938 in Windom (Cottonwood County) and May 3, 1954 near Leonard (Clearwater County). Officially, at the Twin Cities International Airport there was only a half inch of snow measured.

(photo courtesy: Emily Spoden on May 2, 2013 from Northfield, MN)



Cold End to 2013
It was definitely a cold end to 2013 for many folks across the northern tier of the nation. Here's a frigid picture from my good friend Amy Betwy out of Duluth, Minnesota. The air temperature earlier Tuesday was -21F with a wind chill of -40F!



Coldest of the Cold
Here are some of the coldest readings (and wind chills) from AM Tuesday (New Year's Eve) from the National Weather Service out of Duluth, MN. Note the -43F low temperature from Embarrass, which was the coldest temperature recorded across the entire Lower 48 on Tuesday!



Cold December in International Falls
According to the National Weather Service, International Falls had one of it's coldest December's on record! Through the 30th of December it was the 2nd coldest!



More Cold on the Way...
I hate to say it, but it appears that the cold air could stick around through mid January. Note the brief warm up later this week across the Midwest prior to another (potentially even colder blast) by next week.

New Year's Eve Temps
On Tuesday morning the core of the coldest air was situated near the Hudson Bay.



Friday, January 3rd
By late this week, the core of the coldest air looks to be situated over parts of the Northeast with another lobe developing across northern Canada.



Monday, January 6th
Latest forecasts still point to a very frigid start to the work week next week as that secondary lobe of Arctic air brushes the Upper Mississippi Valley/Great Lakes Region. If the current forecast holds, this surge of Arctic air will be felt across a more widespread area in the eastern half of the nation.



Temperature Outlook Thru Mid January
According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, there's a good chance that below normal conditions will continue right throught the middle of the month. It's probably not what some folks want to hear after such a cold December, but January is typically the coldest month of the year.



Think Warm Thoughts!
Thanks to my good friend Meghan Gehrke for this teaser... At this point she's probably trying to rub it in! Looks fantastic in the eastern Caribbean on the Island of St. Lucia.



Big Lines at Disney World
It's a nice thing that temperature were rather warm on Tuesday afternoon at Disney World. Take a look at these lines for folks waiting to get into the park for the New Year's Eve festivities. Apparently the wait time was nearly 2 to 4 hours!

(picture courtesy: @scarlettashley1)



Ringing in the New Year
Happy New Year! Here's was a brilliant shot from Sydney Australia as they rang in the New Year Down Under.

(photo courtesy: @Coral)



Top 10 Most Popular New Year's Resolutions
Here's an article from Fool.com, which shows the most popular New Year's Resolutions according to a study done by Harris. I bet you can guess the # 1 resolution...

"# 10: Set aside time for yourself
Last, but certainly not least, is the 10th most common New Year's resolution that states American's desire to get more "me time." Like No. 9 above, I can whole-heartedly agree with this one as "me time" is an important key to relaxation.

Perhaps nothing says relaxation like online travel service provider Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN), which allows consumers to combine their flight, hotels, and car reservations into a discounted package. With most Americans unwilling to give up their vacation regardless of their economic situation, and Priceline pushing dominantly into Europe, it's a smart "me time" play."

Read more HERE:



NYC Times Square Ball Fun Facts
Have you ever wondered what goes into the infamous ball in Times Square? Here's this year's fun facts from:

TimesSquareNYC.org

Ball Fun Facts
The Ball is a geodesic sphere, 12 feet in diameter, and weighs 11,875 pounds.

The Ball is covered with a total of 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles that vary in size, and range in length from 4 ¾ inches to 5 ¾ inches per side.

For Times Square 2014, all 2,688 of the Waterford Crystal triangles introduce the new design Gift of Imagination - featuring a series of intricate wedge cuts that appear to be endless mirrored reflections of each other inspiring our imagination with a kaleidoscope of colorful patterns on the Ball.

The 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles are bolted to 672 LED modules which are attached to the aluminum frame of the Ball.

The Ball is illuminated by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDs (light emitting diodes). Each LED module contains 48 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDs - 12 red, 12 blue, 12 green, and 12 white for a total of 8,064 of each color.

The Ball is capable of creating a palette of more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns producing a spectacular kaleidoscope effect atop One Times Square.



Walleye Drop?
Now this is a little more up my alley! It's the annual "Walleye Drop" in Port Clinton, OH where the "Madness at Midnight" is host to several folks along the shores of Lake Erie. This festive event is host to a 20foot, 600lbs walleye named Wylie.

Read more about Wylie HERE:

(photo courtesy: 13abc WTVG)



Tracking Lows
The storm will begin to take shape later this week as two areas of low pressure begin to merge Thursday. By Friday morning, one area of low pressure looks to emerge as it races up the Northeast coastline.



Strong Low Pressure
The merged area of low pressure looks fairly impressive by late Thursday night/AM Friday as it pulls away from from the Eastern Seaboard. With this setup, there should be cold enough air for decent/shovelable snow tallies across a wide area.



Heavy Snow Potential
The next thing on the docket is the heavy snow potential late week from the Great Lakes to the Northeast. At this point, plowable snow looks inevitable for many across a large area over the next few days.



The snow looks quite a bit more pronounced in the Northeast later this week as two areas of low pressure look to merge near the Northeastern coast.



Winter Weather Headlines
The National Weather Service is already issuing winter weather headlines for some of the major cities in the Northeast. Keep an eye on latest forecasts as this storm has the potential to impact travel greatly later this week.



Thanks for checking in and have a great rest of your week!
Don't forget to check me out on Twitter @TNelsonWNTV