1/19 – The Chief’s “Terribly WINDY Day” Friday Morning Forecast
* Freeze and Hard Freeze Conditions expected again tonight and Saturday night. Wind chill values in the single digits and teens will be likely across the northern half of the area.
* Temperatures most places won’t be quite as cold as the recent hard freeze, but with up to 12 hours below freezing and up to 8 hours below 25, outdoor and poorly insulated pipes could freeze.
* Take action to protect the 4 Ps: People, Pets, Pipes and Plants.
The cold front continues to move east across the eastern half of the country, with gusty winds from the NW. Arctic high pressure was moving southeastward through the Plains States. Upper level high pressure will move out of the Rockies into the Plains States by late Saturday. The surface high over the Plains this morning will be near the Iowa-Missouri border Saturday evening. This will deliver one final shot of cold air to the Gulf Coast over the next 48 hours.
This cold air mass won’t be quite as severe as the one earlier in the week, and we won’t have freezing rain to deal with, either. With quite a bit of sunshine expected today, we’ll get into the 50s in most areas, but with the northerly winds, it’ll feel quite chilly to some. Overnight lows tonight will dip well into the 20s for much of the area, and with winds remaining in the 10-15 mph range, wind chill values in the single digits and teens will be likely across the northern half of the area, where a Wind Chill Advisory will be in effect overnight tonight. The Freeze and Hard Freeze Watches that were in effect for tonight will be upgraded to warnings.
High pressure will continue to move slowly eastward on Sunday, and off the Atlantic Coast on Monday. This will produce one more frigid night Saturday night across the area, with Freeze and Hard Freeze Warnings issued for the same locations as tonight. The good news is that beyond Saturday night/Sunday morning, the cold air will be departing for a while. Winds will become easterly on Sunday, with moisture returning. Clouds will be increasing late in the day, which may hold temperatures down a bit with highs in the 40s, but dew points will be recovering. It’s entirely possible, if not likely, that the low temperatures Sunday night will occur during the evening hours, with temperatures rising after midnight, if not sooner.
