Brrr: La Crosse suffers coldest day of winter, but weekend should warm

It was -16 degrees at the La Crosse Regional Airport, the coldest temperature of the winter so far.

The National Weather Service of La Crosse said this typically occurs Jan. 21.

The earliest date to have the coldest day of winter came on Nov. 28 in both 1930-31 and 1977-78. The latest date came on March 4 (2000-01).

The weekend should be much nicer in La Crosse with highs in the mid-30s and lows Saturday around 18 and on Sunday, lows around 25 degrees.

Only 14 winters that have seen their coldest temperature occur on or after Feb. 14.

On Thrusday, both La Crosse and Rochester set daily cold temp records. Rochester, Minn., was at -18, breaking the 1971 record of -16. La Crosse was at -12, breaking a 2016 record of -8.

Records began being recorded in Rochester in 1886 and in 2000 in La Crosse.

A slew of cities broke coldest temp records for Feb. 14, including Rochester, Caledonia, Minn., Winona, Minn., La Crosse and La Crescent, Minn.

The NWS also posted a video on the first 2020 spring flood outlook, saying there is a well above normal risk for flooding this year.