NOAA: Cold, Snowy La Niña Winter Will Hit Minnesota Hard

ST. PAUL, MN — The National Weather Service says Minnesotans should brace for a colder, snowier winter this year, with a weak La Niña expected to persist through the 2025–2026 season.

“These La Niña conditions, along with other favorable forcing mechanisms, favor below normal temperatures for Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin during the winter season,” the National Weather Service Twin Cities office said in its winter outlook, released Wednesday.

The agency said a “gradual descent into winter is probable, with the greatest chances for below-normal temperatures mid-winter (January and February).” Meteorologists also expect “highly variable conditions” with some thaws interrupting cold snaps, though the overall three-month trend is expected to skew colder.

On the precipitation side, NOAA forecasters said “a weak signal bridging” the Ohio River Valley and the Northern Rockies is creating “a slight favoring for above normal precipitation this winter across Minnesota and Wisconsin.”

Because temperatures are expected to fluctuate, “not all of the precipitation may fall as snow,” forecasters said. However, if a large snowpack develops, it “could lead to increased chances for snowmelt and rainfall flooding in the spring.”

The National Weather Service said the slight favoring for below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation is expected to continue into the spring of 2026.

Upcoming Twin Cities Forecast

According to the National Weather Service, the Minneapolis–St. Paul area will see a warm, breezy stretch before cooler fall air returns this weekend:

• Thursday: Mostly cloudy, high near 70. South southeast wind around 15 mph, gusts up to 30 mph.
• Thursday Night: A slight chance of showers before 2 a.m., then a chance after 4 a.m. Mostly cloudy, low around 62. South southeast wind around 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 30%.
• Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, high near 72. Southwest wind around 15 mph.
• Friday Night: Mostly clear, low around 50. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
• Saturday: Increasing clouds, high near 64. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west northwest in the afternoon.
• Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, then gradually clearing, low around 43. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph.
• Sunday: Sunny, high near 59. West northwest wind 10 to 15 mph.
• Sunday Night: Mostly clear, low around 45. West southwest wind around 10 mph becoming south after midnight.
• Monday: Mostly sunny, high near 65. South wind around 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon.
• Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, low around 42. West northwest wind around 15 mph.
• Tuesday: Mostly sunny, high near 51. Breezy, west northwest wind 15 to 20 mph, gusts up to 30 mph.
• Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, low around 36. West northwest wind 10 to 15 mph.
• Wednesday: Mostly sunny, high near 56. South southwest wind 10 to 15 mph.