Dangerous Cold Tonight + Wind Chill Warning

The National Weather Service has expanded its Wind Chill Warning into portions of central Minnesota to include Kandiyohi, Stearns, and Todd counties (+more) through noon Friday -- where wind chills as cold as -45 are expected.

Avoid outside activities if possible. When outside, make sure you wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves.

A Wind Chill Advisory is in effect for the rest of central Minnesota through noon Friday, including Benton, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Sherburne, and Wright counties (including the Twin Cities metro area) -- where wind chills as low as -35 are expected.

Forecast Low Temperatures Tonight:

• Albany: -31
• Annandale: -26
• Avon: -30
• Becker: -27
• Cold Spring: -28
• Foley: -27
• Holdingford: -31
• Kimball: -28
• Little Falls: -32
• Melrose: -31
• Paynesville: -29
• Pierz: -31
• Princeton: -26
• Rice: -28
• Royalton: -29
• Saint Cloud: -27

The temperatures above are the forecasted air temperature readings. Wind chills will be much lower than that. The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.

Tie a knot at the end of the rope and hang on as hard as you can. This extremely cold weather is headed for a pleasant break on Saturday when high temperatures across the area will 'skyrocket' to near 30 (above). It will feel almost tropical, but don't get too excited. We'll plunge back well below Saturday night through Tuesday morning -- followed by another well-deserved warmup.

A Minnesotan's Definition of Hope

From the National Weather Service this evening: Arctic air settles in overnight with dangerously cold wind chills. Please bundle up and dress in layers when headed outside, and pack warm clothes and a charged phone when traveling.