MANKATO — Mankato’s cold start to the week could be a preview of chillier forecasts on the horizon.
Temperatures dipped to minus 2 degrees Monday morning, tying Jan. 4 for the lowest temp yet this month, said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Strus. The only colder days this winter were the minus 6 degree temps measured Dec. 12 and Dec. 21.
A warmup into the 30s is likely coming later in the work week, but Strus said Mankato is forecasted to plunge back into coldness late this weekend into next week.
“The key here is over the three-day period Sunday to Tuesday, or Wednesday, it looks like it’s going to be the most prolonged blast of winter cold so far this winter season,” he said.
If projections hold, high temperatures will drop from 18 degrees on Saturday to 3 degrees on Sunday to 0 on Monday. Monday’s lows would be in the minus 10 to minus 15 range.
Although conditions could change, Strus said, NWS wants people to be prepared.
At Connections Shelter, preparing for the cold means distributing a bunch of hand warmers.
“We’re going through those pretty quickly,” said Jennifer Echevarria, executive director. “We could always use more.”
Hand warmers are among the most needed donations to the nonprofit, which operates an overnight shelter at First Presbyterian Church along with a drop-in center at 800 S. Front St. Other helpful donations would include gloves, hats, long underwear, thick socks, hot chocolate and hot cider.
The shelter has a waitlist for spots, while the drop-in center is taking in people to warm up from the cold during the day. Echevarria said compared to the 30-50 people typically coming to the drop-in center per day, the numbers when it turns cold like this are well on the higher end of the range.
“We have been seeing massively increased numbers at the drop-in center,” she said.