'Massive' swings in temperature set to continue across North Central states

Ryan Adamson
·2 min read

Residents of the Plains and Upper Midwest have had to endure dramatic swings in temperature this month, and AccuWeather forecasters say the end of January and beginning of February will be no different.

"Typically, these wild changes do not occur in January," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Matt Benz.

While there have been many ups and downs this month, the cold has outweighed any milder conditions.

"Despite these fluctuations, both Minneapolis and International Falls, Minnesota, are still well below normal for January," Benz noted.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

Even with six days above 20 degrees Fahrenheit this month in International Falls, where the normal high in January is only 15 degrees, the monthly departure is 8.2 degrees below normal through Jan. 27. This is due to seven days on which the high temperature failed to get above zero, including a bone-chilling high of 7 degrees below zero on Tuesday.

Minneapolis has faired slightly better, but not by much. The mercury rose to only 1 degree on New Year's Day, which was 24 degrees below normal. Meanwhile, two days in January have soared above 40 degrees. Overall, the Twin Cities are 6.1 degrees below normal through Jan. 27.

"Many places in the northern Plains have had 30-, 40- or even 50-degree changes over just a day or two at multiple times this month," noted Benz.

A brief warmup occurred on Wednesday after a frigid Tuesday. For example, after a high of 5 degrees below zero on Tuesday, Grand Forks, North Dakota, reached 34 degrees on Wednesday.

This warmup was quickly replaced by bitterly cold air again on Thursday. Grand Forks hovered in the low single digits at midday on Thursday and plunged well below zero by Thursday evening.

By the weekend, the pattern is expected to stabilize a bit.

"Massive swings in temperatures will occur through Friday, but it may level off some through early next week," pointed out Benz.

In general, most locations in the region will be above normal thanks to milder air as January ends.

The above-normal readings will not last long, with yet another blast of cold expected to begin in February. By next Wednesday, it is possible that portions of northern North Dakota again fail to rise above zero for daytime high temperatures. That return to frigid conditions would likely be preceded by a major snowstorm for portions of the Plains and Midwest from Tuesday to Wednesday.

For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.