Now that most of the snow is done for the Stateline our focus will shift to the arctic air mass that is set to move in behind our second cold front Thursday afternoon. Temperatures ahead of the front will warm into the upper teens and low 20s during the first half of the afternoon, but then quickly begin to fall as the front sweeps through. This will take place from west to east after 3pm/4pm. Temperatures will quickly fall into the teens, then single digits, and eventually below zero all by 9pm/10pm. To go along with the drop in air temperature, wind chills will also fall well below zero Thursday night. Overnight lows will sit between -10 and -15 degrees across the Stateline, but wind chills are likely to drop between -30 and -40 degrees.
Due to the anticipated cold, there is an Extreme Cold Watch that'll go into effect for northern Illinois beginning Thursday night and an Extreme Cold Warning for southern Wisconsin. We'll likely see the watch changed to a warning by Thursday.
Frostbite in this type of cold can occur within 10 minutes and is dangerous to be out in - even if for a short duration of time. Temperatures Friday afternoon will struggle to warm above zero degrees, with the current forecast 'high' of -5. Wind chills during the afternoon will sit between -15 to -20.
The Arctic high-pressure system will settle in a little closer to the region Friday night, and this should help in our wind chill department some, but chills still as low as -25 are possible Saturday morning. By Saturday afternoon temperatures may be able to inch a little bit above zero with afternoon chills coming up as well, but still below zero for most.
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