A Cold Weather Advisory is posted for most of the state through noon today, as National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Lee says strong winds and bitter cold are making for a hazardous combination.
“We still have gusts out there this morning in the 25-to-30-mile an hour range in most areas,” Lee says, “and with temperatures falling to near or below zero, that is combining for very dangerous wind chills.”
Lee says some areas of the state may see wind chill indices of 30-below zero, and he says they won’t be getting much better anytime soon.
“It will still be cold all day, but the winds will be diminishing, the temperatures will come up a little bit, so it won’t be as bad by this afternoon, certainly as it is this morning,” Lee says. “Then on Tuesday we may actually warm up into the 20s across a lot of the state, but unfortunately we’re looking for some snow chances after that and then more cold at the end of the week.”
While parts of the state had unseasonable high temperatures in the 60s a little over a week ago, this frigid forecast is more in line with wintertime.
“The current forecast actually on Friday, the high temperatures may not even get up to zero, so it’s going to be very cold for a couple of days here.”
The weather service says wind chills as low as 30 below zero can cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.
