Fresh Round Of Arctic Air To Bring Coldest Temperatures Of Winter So Far To Some In Central, Eastern US

J​anuary's shivering weather pattern east of the Rockies shows no signs of letting up as we head into the month's final stretch.

That's because a fresh batch of bitterly cold arctic air is set to arrive this weekend into the new week, bringing the coldest lows of the winter so far in some cities as well as dangerously cold wind chills.

W​hen the next cold plunge will arrive: The next cold plunge supplied by strong arctic high pressure will nosedive southward through the Plains and upper Midwest through Saturday.

F​rom there, it will spread across the rest of the Midwest, South and Northeast Sunday through Tuesday.

Although it's not forecast to set many record lows, the temperatures during this cold snap will be anywhere from 15 to 30 degrees below average for a large area. Some people may experience record cold afternoons.

(​MAPS: Forecast Highs And Lows)

• Minneapolis could see its first double-digit subzero low of the season beginning Sunday. They may end up experiencing multiple such nights.
• Chicago, Denver, Detroit and Pittsburgh might see their first lows of the season dropping below zero.
• L​ows along the Interstate 95 corridor from Boston to New York and Philadelphia will flirt with the single digits by Tuesday morning.
• Much of the South will see teens and low 20s for lows by early next week, with parts of the Gulf Coast dipping at or below freezing.

W​ind chills will once again be dangerous. T​he following three maps show the coldest forecast wind chills of the day on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. In most cases, those coldest wind chills occur early in the morning.

• S​ubzero wind chills will eventually grip a broad area of the Plains, Midwest and Great Lakes through Tuesday or Wednesday. Portions of the Northern Plains, upper Midwest and western Great Lakes could see early morning wind chills in the dangerously cold minus 20s, 30s and 40s.
• W​ind chills in the teens and single digits will extend into parts of the South and the Northeast. Many areas in the Northeast will see subzero wind chills by Tuesday morning.

(​MORE: What The Wind Chill Means And Why They Are Dangerous)

January's cold start is notable for one reason: Record 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 13 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.

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.