Latest Duluth Area Text Forecast Discussion product from NWS:
351
FXUS63 KDLH 200807
AFDDLH
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Duluth MN
207 AM CST Tue Jan 20 2026
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Very cold wind chills of 25 to 35 below zero continue through
midday today with Cold Weather Advisories in effect.
- An Arctic front arriving Wednesday afternoon will bring gusty
winds and the start of extremely cold temperatures. This will
be a prolonged period of extreme and potentially life-
threatening cold through the weekend.
- Light snow and flurries are expected tonight and Wednesday
with most areas seeing an inch or less.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 201 AM CST Tue Jan 20 2026
Very cold air temperatures are being observed early this
morning with values ranging from 10 to 20 below zero areawide.
Parts of inland northwest Wisconsin are even colder with
temperatures down to 25 below zero. These temperatures are
forecast to moderate towards zero closer to the Noon hour when
the Cold Weather Advisory for all locations currently expires.
Periodic clouds over the Iron Range and interior Arrowhead will
bring flurries through the morning daylight hours today. This
sky cover has temporarily moderated the coldest temperatures for
those locations, but very gradual clearing towards sunrise is
likely to still drop those down towards the low teens below zero
air temperatures.
Light lake effect snowfall today persists for the Bayfield
Peninsula where one to two inches is possible into tonight.
While an approaching clipper has continued a slight trend
southward, limited moisture is still expected south of US
Highway 2 and may create a trace to a few tenths of an inch of
light snowfall this evening. This will begin first in the
Brainerd Lakes area then move into inland Wisconsin late this
evening to early overnight.
The cold lasts through the week, but a slight reprieve begins this
afternoon and especially Wednesday ahead of an incoming Arctic
front moving over the Northland Wednesday afternoon. Northwest
winds quickly increase Wednesday mid-day ahead of and along the
frontal passage. These winds will combine with temperatures
still in the single digits to low teens above zero to create
wind chills of teens below zero by late afternoon and Wednesday
evening. Associated with the Arctic frontal passage and low to
mid-level forcing, a widespread areal coverage of light snowfall
is expected Wednesday daytime, with many locations forecast to
receive around 1 inch.
A Cold Weather Advisory may be needed starting Wednesday night in
northern Minnesota for continued gusty winds and the next round
of Arctic air creating forecast wind chills into early Thursday
morning of 25 to 35 below zero in northern Minnesota and 15 to
25 below zero for northwest Wisconsin. The trend for a bit
sooner onset of the coldest air has continued over the last 24
hours. This is represented in just one part of the forecast by
the Thursday daytime temperatures now not expected to reach
above zero except for parts of east-central Minnesota and
northwest Wisconsin.
The most extreme and even more widespread and prolonged dangerous
cold conditions are likely to begin Thursday evening and last
at least into Saturday morning, and perhaps as long as Sunday
morning. This period is very likely to see Extreme Cold Watch
and Warning headlines at some point for all Northland counties
as air temperatures approach 30 to 40 below zero and wind
chills plummet to 40 to 55 below zero. These conditions
represent the coldest air the region has seen since 2021. Below
normal temperatures by 10 to 15 degrees will last into early
next week even after the coldest airmass departs eastward Sunday
into Monday.
&&
.AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z WEDNESDAY/...
Issued at 1124 PM CST Mon Jan 19 2026
VFR conditions with clear skies are largely expected through
much of the first 12 hours of this TAF period. There will be off
and on MVFR stratus decks moving through the Range and
Arrowhead into 12-15Z this morning and may affect HIB
periodically. Lake effect snow showers will bring both MVFR
visibility and ceilings to the Bayfield Peninsula and snowbelts
into Tuesday daytime. A clipper to the south builds VFR ceilings
back in 18Z and afterward through 00Z. As lower level moisture
saturates areas in the far southern parts of the Northland
around and after 00Z, BRD and HYR may see MVFR ceilings. A light
dusting of snowfall is forecast though at least for those
terminals to end this TAF period. A trace may also impact DLH
and HIB as well though too so light snow was placed in those
terminal TAFs too on the pessimistic side of this southern
clipper.
&&
.MARINE /FOR NEARSHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR/...
Issued at 205 AM CST Tue Jan 20 2026
West to northwest winds will gust up to 25 knots today and taper
off last in the Apostles this evening. Small Craft Advisories
remain in effect for parts of the North Shore through this
morning and the Outer Apostle Islands until this afternoon.
Starting Wednesday afternoon and lasting into much of this work
week, heavy freezing spray will likely remain a concern from
incoming gusty northwest winds strongest Wednesday evening
through Friday morning.
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 today for MNZ010>012-
018>021-025-026-033>038.
WI...Cold Weather Advisory until noon CST today for WIZ001>004-
006>009.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 10 AM CST this morning for
LSZ140>142.
Cold Weather Advisory until noon CST today for LSZ142.
Small Craft Advisory until 4 PM CST this afternoon for LSZ150.
&&
$$
DISCUSSION...NLy
AVIATION...NLy
MARINE...NLy
NWS DLH Office Area Forecast Discussion
