An arctic air mass, gliding slowly southward over Minnesota's snow-covered landscape, produced record daily minimum temperatures at many locations on Saturday morning, April 20. Temperatures across much of northeastern Minnesota dropped below zero. Minimum temperatures fell to near 10 degrees in northwest Minnesota, the teens in central and southwest Minnesota, and the mid-20s in south central and southeast Minnesota.
A sampling of new minimum temperature records set April 20, 2013
| Location | April 20, 2013 | Previous record |
| International Falls | 4 degrees | previous record was 18 degrees set in 1966 |
| Duluth | 11 degrees | previous record was 14 degrees set in 1928 |
| St. Cloud | 16 degrees | previous record was 20 degrees set in 1897 |
| Sioux Falls | 16 degrees | previous record was 18 degrees set in 1907 |
| Grand Forks | 18 degrees | previous record was 18 degrees set in 1930 |
| Twin Cities | 21 degrees | previous record was 26 degrees set in 1888 |
| La Crosse | 22 degrees | previous record was 23 degrees set in 1897 |
The temperature plummeted to -14 degrees F in Embarrass (St. Louis County). This was the coldest temperature ever recorded in Minnesota on April 20. The previous statewide record for Minnesota on April 20 was zero degrees, measured in Cloquet in 1928. Not only was -14 degrees a statewide record for April 20, it was the coldest temperature ever observed in Minnesota during the second half of April.
The new minimum temperature record in the Twin Cities was the first daily minimum temperature record set since a record was tied on September 15, 2011 (36 degrees). The last time a daily minimum temperature record was broken outright was August 21, 2004 (44 degrees).
Greg Spoden, DNR Climatologist