Minnesota weather: Subzero temps wrap up for the season

MN weather: Dash of light snow later on Tuesday

A quiet and cold Tuesday gives way to increasing clouds and the chance for light snow later in the afternoon and evening. FOX 9 meteorologist Cody Matz has the full forecast. 

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The last of Minnesota's subzero temperatures appeared in many areas Tuesday morning as our deep fresh snowpack, clear skies, and calm winds allowed the minus signs to return briefly. 

But considering the forecast for the next several days, along with all of our snow likely melting heading into and through the weekend, it would be extremely unlikely that minus signs return this season, especially in the Twin Cities. There could be exceptions near the Canadian border.

Twin Cities' last subzero day was Jan. 30

By the numbers:

With the Twin Cities low Tuesday at 1 degree, missing the subzeros, it will mark an early end to the minus signs in the metro versus one of the latest. 

The metro did not get below zero in all of February, which is a little unusual, but not unheard of. And because March has been really warm until now, the last time the Twin Cities was officially below zero was back on Jan. 30. 

The average last subzero day at MSP Airport is Feb.18. If a subzero had occurred on this St Patrick's Day, it would have been the latest subzero temp in the season since 1996.

The metro will finish with 17 calendar days below zero, which is slightly below the average of 20. The coldest temperature recorded at the airport was 21 degrees below zero back on Jan. 23. This marks the roughly average lowest temperature of the year, with the "typical" coldest temp around 18 below zero. But it is the first time the metro has hit the 20 below zero mark since 2019.
 

Subzeros may be over, but the snow season isn't

Dig deeper:

Just a reminder, while subzero season is wrapping up, snow season is not. March is very much a snow month, but April can be too. 

The Twin Cities metro averages a little over 3 inches of snow in April and can get a lot more at times. So, our snow season potentially continues for another 6 weeks or so. The good news is, April snow often melts the same day it falls, so at least it doesn't last long.