No snow on the ground and no below zero yet: January 17, 2019
Courtesy: MNDNR State Climatology Office
On January 19, 2019, the mercury finally dipped below zero in the Twin Cities (as measured at MSP airport), with a minimum temperature of -1 degrees F recorded just after sunrise. This was the latest into the winter the Twin Cities had gone without a below-zero reading, setting the record by one calendar day. The previous record had been a three-way tie between 2012, 2002, and 1889.In 147 years of record-keeping in the Twin Cities, the official temperature has always fallen below zero at some point during the winter. In fact, there has never been a Twin Cities winter during which the temperature did not dip below zero at least twice. The 2018-19 joined that pack as well, with an additional subzero reading (-5 degrees F) on January 20th.The long-term average date of the first below-zero reading in the Twin Cities is December 9. The earliest below-zero temperature recorded in the Twin Cities was November 4, 1991.
Latest First Subzero Reading of Winter
Twin Cities, 1872-2019
Rank Season First Below Zero Temp.(F)
-----------------------------------------
1) 2018-19 January 19 -1
2) 2011-12 January 18 -1
2) 2001-02 January 18 -2
2) 1888-89 January 18 -10
5) 1954-55 January 16 -1
6) 1881-82 January 14 -8
7) 2002-03 January 11 -1
7) 1974-75 January 11 -6
7) 1913-14 January 11 -6
10) 2015-16 January 9 -6
Last modified: January 21, 2019
