'Siberian Express' To Pile Onto January's Shivering Start In Central, Eastern States

J​anuary has packed a frigid punch for many in the central and eastern states so far and the "Siberian Express" will pile onto the bone-chilling month as we head into the weekend and next week.

F​irst up, a temperature roller coaster this week. A bout of arctic air currently entrenched over the Midwest and Northern and Central Plains will sweep toward the Northeast through Wednesday. Low temperatures will sometimes be 10 to 25 degrees below average into midweek.

I​n its wake, the Plains and Midwest will warm up notably, with highs 10 to 20 degrees above average by Thursday and Friday. That means afternoon temperatures will top out in the relatively comfortable (for January standards) 30s and 40s in most areas.

(​MAPS: Forecast Highs And Lows)

The "Siberian Express" arrives this weekend. When arctic air spills into the U.S. during winter it can have one of multiple source regions. That includes Arctic Canada, Alaska, and in the case what lies ahead this weekend and early next week, Russia's Siberia region. Sometimes meteorologists call this the "Siberian Express" because of the cold air's geographic origins.

S​iberia is one of the coldest locations on Earth. As an example, temperatures in a few locations across the region bottomed out near minus 60 degrees in the 24 hours ending Monday morning U.S. time. That kind of cold is routinely seen in Siberian winters.

G​iven the bitterly cold starting point, arctic air sourced from this region can pack a punch when it dives southward into Canada and the U.S.

Minneapolis could see its first double-digit subzero low of the season early next week.

Chicago and Denver might see their first lows of the season dropping below zero.

K​eep in mind that since this forecast is still multiple days away, changes are likely to what is shown below for low temperatures Sunday through next Tuesday. W​e'll have more details on the forecast by later this week.

One more certain thing is that w​ind chills will once again be dangerous for many beginning early next week.

January's cold start is notable for one reason. Record-setting cold hasn't been widespread this month, but what we've seen so far plus what's to come makes it noteworthy from a persistence point of view.

Most areas east of the Rockies had temperatures at least somewhat below average for the first 11 days of the month as a whole, as shown in the analysis below from NOAA. Most notably, parts of the Plains, South, Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic have been 5 or more degrees below average.

Other than a brief warmup late this week, many of these areas will continue to feel the brunt of this cold January pattern as we head into the month's final stretch.

Chris Dolce has been a senior meteorologist with weather.com for over 10 years after beginning his career with The Weather Channel in the early 2000s.