Waves of Arctic Air Continue to Grip the Midwest Into This Weekend

January 13,2016
Waves of arctic air have been impacting the Midwest since last weekend, and another round of frigid temperatures will grip the region this coming weekend. Colder-than-average temperatures have also been affecting parts of the Northeast and South at times the last several days.
Although the cold temperatures have been locked in across the Midwest, the cold is not extreme enough to break records since this is the coldest time of the year, climatologically speaking. That said, those living in or traveling through the affected states should still be prepared for the cold air and bundle up.
Wednesday morning, lows in the single digits were reported as far south as northern Kentucky. Low temperatures in Chicago and Milwaukee dipped into the single digits above and below zero for the fourth consecutive morning Wednesday, with wind chills in the teens below zero.
This past Sunday and Monday morning the actual air temperature dipped into the middle 30s below zero in a few isolated spots of northeast Minnesota.

Current Wind Chills

The cold weather pattern will also continue to make conditions ripe for feet of lake-effect snow to fall in the Great Lakes, which you can read more about at the link below.
(FORECAST: More Lake-Effect Snow on the Way)
Below we have a look at the forecast for the chilly temperatures.

Waves of Arctic Air Continue Into This Weekend

The second reinforcing shot of arctic air that has now entered the Midwest will sweep across the Great Lakes and into the Northeast through Wednesday. That said, temperatures will not be as cold in the Northeast compared to what we are seeing in the Midwest.
Temperatures will then retreat to levels near or even above average across the central and eastern states Thursday and Friday, before another plunge of arctic air arrives this weekend in the Midwest.
The map below shows the forecast high temperatures Wednesday through Friday, illustrating where temperatures will be the coldest through Wednesday, followed by a moderating trend to wrap up the week.

Forecast Highs Tuesday-Thursday

Here's a general timing of the cold temperatures:
Wednesday 

• Midwest: Lows in the single digits are expected as far south as the Ohio Valley. Subzero lows likely once again in the Upper Midwest and western Great Lakes. Highs will mostly be in the single digits, teens and low 20s from the upper Mississippi Valley into the Great Lakes.
• Northeast: Lows range from the teens across the interior to the 20s along the coast. Highs will range from the teens and low 20s across the interior to the upper 20s and low 30s along the coast.
• South: Lows in the 20s will grip the mid-South.

Thursday

• Midwest: Warmer temperatures are expected with highs up to 20 degrees above average in portions of the Midwest and Plains. Highs will range from the teens to the 20s and 30s for the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes.
• Northeast: High and low temperatures will warm slightly with temperatures close to average. Highs will range from the 20s in northern New England to the 30s and 40s toward the Mid-Atlantic.
• South: Milder temperatures are expected with highs mainly in the 50s in the Southeast, while temperatures will climb into the 60s in the Lower Mississippi Valley, Southern Plains and Florida.

Friday

• Midwest: Temperatures stay above average over the mid-Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes. Over parts of the Plains and Upper Midwest, temperatures cool slightly with highs in the teens and 20s. Elsewhere across the Midwest and Great Lakes, highs will reach the 30s and 40s.
• Northeast: High and low temperatures remain above average. Highs will range from the 20s in Maine to the 30s and 40s over New York and New England, with 50s over parts of the Mid-Atlantic.
• South: Temperatures stay above average in most of the region. Expect highs in the 50s over the Mid-South and lower Appalachians, to the 60s over the Deep South and 70s across much of Florida.

(FORECAST: Bismarck, North Dakota | Chicago | Minneapolis)
As mentioned before, another wave of arctic air will arrive this weekend in the Midwest. Below is an overview of the next wave of cold air Saturday through next Monday, followed by the forecast temperature maps.
Weekend-Next Monday

• Saturday: The next wave of bitter cold air arrives in eastern Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa and western Wisconsin where highs will be up to 20 degrees below average.
• Sunday: Much of the Midwest will see highs 10 to 30 degrees below average. Lows in the teens and 20s below zero are likely in the Upper Midwest. Subzero highs are expected in North Dakota, Minnesota, northern Iowa and western Wisconsin.
• Monday: A swath from the Dakotas to the western Great Lakes will see subzero low temperatures. Highs will be below average from the Midwest to the East Coast.

Forecast Highs Saturday-Next Monday

Forecast Lows This Weekend

This Week's Cold Recap (Jan. 10-12)

Subzero temperatures were recorded Sunday morning as far south as northern Kansas and northern Missouri. Fosston, Minnesota, was the coldest location in the Lower 48, with a low of 35 degrees below zero. Many locations in the northern Plains and Upper Midwest experienced wind chills in the 20s and 30s below zero.
Prior to the arrival of this surge of cold air, above-average temperatures took hold of the Northeast Sunday. Several daily record highs were set on Sunday including:
Wilmington, Delaware (66 degrees); Philadelphia (65 degrees); Poughkeepsie, New York (65 degrees); Hartford, Connecticut (59 degrees); Providence, Rhode Island (59 degrees); Boston, Massachusetts (58 degrees); Worcester, Massachusetts (56 degrees); Albany, New York (55 degrees); Burlington, Vermont (53 degrees); Portland, Maine (52 degrees)
Monday morning, the coldest spot in the Lower 48 was near Cotton, Minnesota, where the low dipped to 36 degrees below zero. Several other locations in northwest Wisconsin and northeast Minnesota saw lows in the 20s below zero. Farther south, both the Chicago and Milwaukee metro areas woke up to subzero temperatures. Wind chills in the Windy City were in the teens below zero while Milwaukee saw a wind chill as low as minus 21 degrees. Single digits lows were recorded as far south as northern Kentucky, with teens into the mid-South.
High temperatures dropped more than 20 degrees from Sunday to Monday for much of the Northeast.
On Monday afternoon, temperatures were only in the 30s from Boston to Philadelphia with 20s in the interior Northeast. Highs in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes were even colder with temperatures struggling to reach the single digits and teens. Conditions were chilly in the South as well where highs in the 40s were found from Raleigh to Atlanta and westward into New Orleans and Dallas.
Tuesday morning, wind chills were in the 20s and 30s below zero in parts of the eastern Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin.

Early January Cold Recap (January 4-5)

On Tuesday, temperatures ranged from to 10 to 15 degrees or more below average from Georgia to portions of New York and New England. While not record breaking, for locations like Atlanta, Georgia and Richmond, Virginia, it was the coldest day since Feb. 24-25, 2015. At New York City, Philadelphia and Washington D.C., it was the coldest day since March 6, 2015.
Temperatures plunged as low as 27 degrees below zero Tuesday morning in Clayton Lake, Maine, and 22 degrees below zero at Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks of upstate New York. Subzero lows were also noted across much of New Hampshire and Vermont as well as the Catskills of New York and the nearby Poconos in northeast Pennsylvania. Several locations in southwestern New York and northwestern Pennsylvania also fell below zero.

Observed low temperatures at selected locations in the Northeast on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. For both New York City and Boston, the readings were the lowest since Feb. 24, 2015, when New York hit 4 degrees and Boston bottomed out at 2.

Boston dipped into the single digits and wind chills as low as zero extended as far south as Washington, D.C., Tuesday morning.
Despite that, there were no reports of record lows at any of the major long-term weather observation sites in the Northeast Tuesday.