The coldest of the air could still be yet to come – Chris

MADISON, Wis. — Alert Days are in the forecast through next weekend and Monday of next week for an unusually long stretch of bitterly cold weather.

Low temperatures will be below zero every night, with a few days having low temperatures of 10 to 15 degrees below zero. This will create early morning wind chills as cold as anywhere from 10 to 40 degrees below zero. High temperatures will only be in the single digits above zero to around 10 degrees, while wind chills should remain below zero even during the warmest part of the day.

The cold is a result of an upper atmospheric region of low pressure that developed over the arctic ocean, and has slowly progressed southward. Right now it’s fairly stationary over parts of southern Canada, pumping cold air into much of the country.

Bitterly cold weather will continue through the weekend, when the upper level low is expected to move further south, sending the core of the cold into the upper Midwest, and freezing temperatures as far south as the Gulf Coast. This is when wind chills will likely be at their coldest, ranging from 35 to 40 below zero at times next Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Temperatures will remain bitterly cold for Monday of next week, but a weather system could bring some snow and temperatures that won’t be as bitterly cold, although they will still be well below normal for this time of year. Monday will start off bitterly cold with low temperatures in the upper single digits below zero and wind chills as cold as 25 below zero. By next Thursday, highs return to the lower 20s.