Bitter cold is back: Wind chill advisory in effect

By Brainerd Dispatch Today at 3:00 a.m.

A Minnnesota Department of Transportation plow truck clears the shoulder Thursday on the northbound lane of Highway 371 south of Nisswa. After a brief period of drizzle Wednesday night and snow early Thursday morning, roads were snowpacked and slippery. Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch

Temperatures dropped sharply from mild at midnight Wednesday with fog and melting snow to single-digit temps before dawn Thursday with a wind chill of 12 below.

After reaching a high of 37 degrees Wednesday, winter regained its cold grip beneath a mantle of light snow. The temperature at the Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport was 8 degrees before 6 a.m. Thursday and falling steadily. By noon Thursday, the high temperature was 3 degrees with a 20 below wind chill.

The mild night with fog, drizzle and standing water turned into blowing snow, ice-covered streets and multiple crashes. Rain changed over to snow about 11 p.m. Wednesday. The four recent days of temperatures above 30 degrees arrived after a run of bitter weather with temperatures nearly 30 degrees colder than normal. As the National Weather Service's winter storm advisory ended, a wind chill advisory went up in its place, which extends through noon Friday, Jan. 12. After another stretch of cold, Wednesday's high of 11 degrees may seem like a heat wave. By Thursday, the high may be near normal at 22 degrees.

Expect the cold pattern to continue with highs near zero, lows near 20 below and wind chill values up to 35 below into the weekend. Snow showers are likely Sunday, mainly before noon.

The prediction for winter was a colder than average year with higher than average precipitation.

So far, the numbers for December are bearing that out.

The National Weather Service in Duluth put together a climate summary of December for the Brainerd area. The normal mean or average high temperature in December is 24 degrees with a mean low temperature of 6.6 degrees. In 2017, the mean high was 20 degrees while the low was 4 degrees. The normal precipitation for December is 0.81 inches with 0.89 inches in 2017 and the normal snowfall is 9.7 inches with 11.4 inches recorded in 2017.

Records for December include:

• Maximum mean high temperature: 36 degrees in 1939.

• Greatest snowfall: 29.1 inches in December of 1968.

• Minimum snowfall: a trace in December 1960 and 1975.

• Greatest 24-hour snowfall: 9 inches in 2007 and 2008.

• Highest temperature: 61 degrees in 1939.

• Lowest temperature: 43 below in 1983.

Records for December 2017 include:

• Highest temperature: 47 degrees on Dec. 2.

• Lowest temperature: 30 below on Dec. 27.

• Greatest precipitation in 24 hours: 0.25 on Dec. 20-21.

• Greatest 24-hour snowfall: 4.3 inches on Dec. 20-21.