The chill is on. A long duration freeze is expected Friday Night into Saturday Morning.

THE FORECAST:

Today and Tonight: Despite sunshine, Friday will be quite cold with highs failing to leave the upper 40s. Continued northeast winds of 5-10mph will produce wind chills or “feels like” temperatures in the low to mid 40s for much of the day. Even colder temperatures are expected overnight into Saturday. Lows will bottom out in the low 30s and upper 20s. However, winds will slacken and thus so will the wind chills.

Up Next: On Saturday, the sunshine and subsiding east winds will allow a bit more warming, back into the low 50s. A southeast wind shift will lead to increasing cloud cover and milder temperatures for Sunday. The next chance for showers arrives Monday as another cold front comes into the area.

THE SCIENCE:

Forecast Discussion: A strong, 1040mb+ surface high pressure system has settled into Midwestern United States. This system will promote clear skies and a continued northerly wind of 5-10mph counteracting much of the sun’s radiation. Therefore, despite sunshine, highs will fail to escape the upper 40s on Friday Afternoon. With clearer skies and lighter winds, Friday Night and Saturday Morning will end up the coldest—in the upper 20s for several hours around midnight through 8am. Then on Saturday, as the surface high shifts east, and return flow begins, enough moisture is expected for cloud cover to develop Late Saturday into Sunday. Forecast models are now in better agreement that the next cold front will be arriving Monday and any rain showers holding off until then accordingly. An initial cold front will pass soon Monday, followed by another front on Tuesday with another round of showers and then cooler temperatures. In summary, Monday and Tuesday are likely to be cloudy and showery—severe weather is not expected at this time—followed by clearing and cooling for the middle and end of next week. Freezing temperatures will again be a possibility for Thursday and Friday Mornings.

--Josh