Another Arctic Blast Of Bitter Cold Air To Push Temperatures Below Zero In Midwest This Weekend

Another Blast Of Dangerously Cold Air This Weekend

Yet another arctic blast of bitter cold air will plunge into the Midwest this weekend, then into the East early next week, sending some temperatures plunging below zero with much colder wind chills in areas shivering through a cold start to December.

Some will see temperatures plummeting to as much 40 degrees below average by Sunday and Monday mornings.

Timing

It's already colder than average in much of the Midwest and Northeast in the wake of the latest Alberta clipper cold front earlier this week.

But another powerhouse arctic front is on the way. Here is when that even colder air will arrive:

- Friday: Northern Plains

- Saturday: Central Plains, Midwest, Great Lakes

- Sunday: The Northeast and much of the South, except Florida

- Monday: Lingering in the Northeast, Southeast (including northern Florida) and Great Lakes

(MORE: Need A Cold Escape? These Areas Are Record Warm Right Now)

'High'lights

Put simply, it will be bitter cold even during the day this weekend in the Midwest.

Highs may not make it out of the single digits from the Dakotas into parts of Indiana. Some locations in Minnesota and the Dakotas — including the Twin Cities — may struggle to see highs above zero.

On Sunday, teens may be as warm as it gets in the Ohio Valley.

These may set some record cold highs for this time of year in Cincinnati and Indianapolis, among other locations.

(MAPS: 10-Day US Forecast Highs/Lows)

'Low'lights

Subzero morning lows are expected not just in the typical cold spots, but also as far south as Indiana, central Illinois and northern Missouri by Sunday morning, possibly again Monday morning.

Sunday morning, lows in the teens, even 20s below zero are forecast from the eastern Dakotas to Minnesota, Iowa and western Wisconsin, including the Twin Cities.

A few of these areas could flirt with daily record lows Sunday morning.

Elsewhere, the coldest morning lows in the Northeast and South will be Monday and Tuesday morning. Lows in the Northeast will range from the teens in the interior to low 20s along the immediate I-95 corridor. Twenties will dominate the Deep South, with a freeze expected to the northern Gulf Coast and northern Florida.

Dangerous Wind Chills

Unfortunately, winds will also accompany the arctic front.

This combination of cold and winds will send wind chills tumbling into the teens, 20s, even 30s below zero, at times this weekend in the Northern Plains and upper Midwest.

So, minimize your time outdoors in these areas this weekend. If you have to venture outside, make sure any exposed skin is covered up.

(MAP: Current Wind Chills)

Any Relief Ahead?

It has been among the top 10 coldest first 10 days of December on record in several locations in the Great Lakes and East, according to the Southeast Regional Climate Center. Among them are New York's JFK Airport (seventh coldest), Roanoke, Virginia (seventh coldest), and Grand Rapids, Michigan (sixth coldest).

We do expect another brush of cold air along the northern tier from the Dakotas to Great Lakes and Northeast later next week.

After that, however, longer-range computer models are suggesting this persistent cold pattern will be shoved back into Canada by Christmas week in a potential pattern change.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.