Brace for bitter cold, but only for a handful of days

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The longest time spent with wind chills below zero so far this winter season starts this weekend.

Your First Alert: Dangerously cold without precautions

Northwesterly winds, at times gusting between 20 to 35 mph, are continuing to draw in much colder air. This process continues over the next couple of days.

As a result, temperatures will fall into the low to mid 10s overnight on the thermometer. Wind chills will likely be near or a bit below zero by sunrise on Saturday.

Despite at least some sunshine, temperatures will barely see upward movement during the day on Saturday. A small bump to the mid to upper 10s is expected, but continued blustery northwest winds result in wind chills barely in the single digits above zero.

By Saturday night, our wind chills fall back below zero and will reach toward levels that could cause health issues if not addressed. A Cold Weather Advisory is in effect for most areas along and north of Interstate 80 in the TV9 viewing area during this time.

Wind chills of -15 to -30 are pretty likely to occur during the night and early daytime hours of Sunday. Some improvement will be seen during the day. But, with at least some northwesterly wind and air temperatures in the single digits, don’t expect much warmth to be felt.

This continues into the next couple of days to follow, especially during the morning hours. Based on the latest data, we may not see above-zero wind chills until after Wednesday morning.

When wind chills are this cold, frostbite becomes likely in a matter of minutes. Make sure to dress warmly, using layers to help keep you warm. Somewhat loose-fitting clothes are better for these layers than tight ones, as they allow air between the layers to warm with your body heat and help insulate from the exterior cold. Make sure exposed skin is as covered as it can be to reduce the frostbite risk.

During this Arctic outbreak, precipitation of any significance looks pretty unlikely. We can’t fully rule out a flurry falling in a case or two, but it would not be the type that would cause any travel issues. The biggest concern here, by far, is the cold temperatures.

Some modest change by the middle of next week week

After we hit rock bottom on Tuesday morning, when air temperature lows could reach the double-digits below zero for our northern zones, we’ll start the process of warming things up a bit.

Tuesday afternoon could see the return of some double-digit highs (above zero!), but a bigger move toward closer-to-normal January readings happens Wednesday and beyond. That’s when highs will get to the upper 20s to mid 30s. Overnight lows will be in the 10s to low 20s.

We’re still facing a pretty dry set of conditions for this portion of the 9-day forecast, too. No additional rain or snow is expected.

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