Latest Duluth Area Text Forecast Discussion product from NWS:
476
FXUS63 KDLH 191207
AFDDLH
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Duluth MN
607 AM CST Mon Jan 19 2026
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Dangerously cold wind chills last into Tuesday morning.
- The rest of the week remains cold, and becomes even colder
Thursday into this weekend. Expect the coldest air of the
season.
- Another clipper will affect portions of the Northland
Wednesday, though impacts and snowfall accumulations are
expected to be minimal.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 230 AM CST Mon Jan 19 2026
Arctic air continues to dominate the Northland today and
tonight. The Cold Weather Advisory remains in effect across
northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin as high temperatures
struggle to climb to zero today. Wind chills this afternoon
will stay between 10 to 20 below zero, plummeting further to
between 25 and 35 below zero tonight. Frostbite can occur on
exposed skin in as little as 10 to 30 minutes. The advisory was
extended in time this morning to now run through noon Tuesday
but may be cancelled earlier if conditions improve faster than
anticipated tomorrow morning.
Along the South Shore in northwest Wisconsin, lake effect snow
will persist through the morning hours. An additional two inches
of accumulation is possible in northern Iron County, leading to
slick travel conditions for the morning commute. A Winter
Weather Advisory remains in effect until 9 am. Meanwhile,
northerly winds along the North Shore have been observed to gust
40 to 45 mph early this morning, but are expected to begin to
diminish over the next few hours as the pressure gradient
weakens closer to pre-dawn hours this morning. However, gusts
up to 30 mph will remain north of Two Harbors through the
morning daylight hours even after the Wind Advisory ends at 6
am.
A weak atmospheric disturbance will move southward this
afternoon and is forecast to help create flurries across
northern Minnesota, primarily along and north of the US Highway
2 corridor. These flurries will be driven by horizontal
convective rolls and are expected to last from around Noon
through late evening, lingering longest in the Arrowhead region.
A dusting may occur over a few hour period from these bands of
flurries later today.
A light clipper system will arrive Tuesday night and continue
through Wednesday. This will bring a broad chance for very light
snowfall across the region, with chances manually increased
over initial model guidance. Total accumulations appear minor,
with a dusting expected north of US Highway 2 and around a half-
inch further south across east-central Minnesota into northwest
Wisconsin. While temperatures will moderate slightly mid-week,
this warm up will be relative as temperatures remain 10 to 15
degrees below seasonal normals.
The most significant concern for the upcoming week is a reinforced
surge of even colder Arctic air now forecast to arrive on
Thursday. This extreme cold will linger through the weekend and
is expected to be the coldest air of the season so far. The
most frigid period is expected from Thursday evening through
Sunday morning, when air temperatures are likely to remain below
zero the entire time. Overnight low air temperatures are
forecast to reach between 25 and 35 below zero, with a 75
percent chance of seeing air temperatures as low as 35 to 40
below zero across the Borderlands and Iron Range Friday night
into Saturday morning. These frigid air temperatures with west
to northwest winds of 3 to 8 mph may create wind chills of 40
to 50 below zero in northern Minnesota and 35 to 45 below zero
in northwest Wisconsin. The current forecast for Friday
night/Saturday morning low temperature is within a few degrees
of the daily record low temperatures for both International
Falls and Hibbing. Extreme Cold headlines are very likely to be
needed in time for this late week and weekend Arctic air.
&&
.AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z TUESDAY/...
Issued at 518 AM CST Mon Jan 19 2026
Mainly VFR conditions are prevailing early this morning in
northern Minnesota outside of some likely anthropogenic snow
streams on the Iron Range. These are causing periodic MVFR/IFR
visibilities at KHIB and are expected into the 15-16Z time
period today. As a band of light snowfall moves through
northwest Wisconsin, improving conditions are being observed
behind it and expected shortly at KHYR. A period of mist and
maybe flurries is forecast to drop southward into the region
from Ontario 16 to 19Z and create a period of afternoon and
evening MVFR ceilings and visibility. A few hours even of IFR to
maybe LIFR ceilings and IFR visibility were placed in TAFs via
TEMPO mentions with this latest issuance. Conditions look to
improve again from 00-06Z Tues.
&&
.MARINE /FOR NEARSHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR/...
Issued at 607 AM CST Mon Jan 19 2026
A Heavy Freezing Spray Warning remains in effect today for the
South Shore and Outer Apostle Islands. Northwest winds of 15 to
25 knots with gusts to 30 knots will continue today and are
creating conditions hazardous to small craft. Small Craft
Advisories are in effect. Waves of 4 to 7 feet will subside
this evening along the South Shore, while North Shore waves
remain 2 to 4 feet. Conditions may remain hazardous for small
craft through at least Tuesday morning with extensions in time
possibly needed later today for those Advisories. A wind shift
to southwesterly Tuesday daytime leads to a decrease in the
coverage for expected hazardous conditions though leading into
Wednesday.
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 Tuesday for MNZ010>012-
018>021-025-026-033>038.
WI...Cold Weather Advisory until noon CST Tuesday for WIZ001>004-
006>009.
Winter Weather Advisory until 9 AM CST this morning for WIZ004.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 10 PM CST this evening for LSZ121-
140>148-150.
Cold Weather Advisory until noon CST Tuesday for LSZ142.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning until 10 AM CST this morning for
LSZ145>147.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning until 10 PM CST this evening for
LSZ150.
&&
$$
DISCUSSION...NLy
AVIATION...NLy
MARINE...NLy
NWS DLH Office Area Forecast Discussion
