Extreme weather across the South Washington County School District closed schools Tuesday, Jan. 21. The National Weather Service at Chanhassen putting out a hazardous weather outlook bulletin for the day, the weather expected to reach between 30 and 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
Temperatures at Cottage Grove towards noon measured two below zero before windchill, with south winds of nine miles per hour making the effective temperature feel like negative 19 degrees Fahrenheit, or negative 28 degrees Celsius.
Elsewhere in the district’s service area the Tuesday forecast called for more extreme weather, the temperature at Woodbury Tuesday coming in at three below zero Fahrenheit while a windspeed of 10 miles per hour drove this down to an effective temperature of negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit, or negative 29 Celsius.
At Newport Tuesday, a 20 percent chance of snow was combined with an effective temperature after windchill of negative 16 Fahrenheit, matching the dewpoint. At Saint Paul Park it was much of the same, the National Weather Service forecast showing negative 16 below zero for temperature and dewpoint, the barometer holding at 30.34 inches, keeping skies clear even as 48 percent humidity keep things interesting. Afton and Denmark showed cold in the similar forecast, with Afton temperatures reaching negative 21 degrees Fahrenheit at midday Tuesday, after windchill.
The forecast going into Wednesday meanwhile showed a possibility of partial reprieve from the arctic cold, with temperatures approaching the upper twenties Fahrenheit before falling overnight, forecast to emerge with a high of 11 degrees Wednesday, before windchill.