Another Arctic Blast Of Bitter Cold Air Pushing Temperatures Below Zero In Midwest

Midwest: Brutal Wind Chills Remain In Place

Yet another arctic blast of bitter cold air spread into the Central Plains, Midwest and Great Lakes and will spread through much of the East by early this 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 over 30 degrees below average Monday morning.

Timing

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

- 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 the rest of the weekend in the Midwest.

Highs may not make it out of the single digits from Minnesota into parts of Indiana.

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.

For Sunday and Monday, highs may struggle to rise much above freezing for the Northeast from Boston to Washington, D.C., and 40s for highs are as warm as it could get in parts of the Deep South and northern Gulf Coast Monday.

'Low'lights

Subzero morning lows slammed not just in the typical cold spots, but also as far south as Indiana, central Illinois and northern Missouri Sunday morning, and could quite possibly be just as cold once again Monday 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 this week.

After that, however, longer-range computer models are suggesting this persistent cold pattern will be shoved back into Canada by late next week into 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.