Forecast Last Updated at Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 4:48AM

The Arctic Express Arrives this Weekend

A weak cold front will pass through the area this morning with clouds and a few showers. Thursday will be cooler, but not shockingly cold. The real cold air arrives this weekend. Another cold front will bring clouds and few rain and snow showers Friday night into Saturday morning (maybe a light dusting in the highest elevations). The big story, though, will be the cold. Lows are expected to drop into the teens Saturday night and Sunday night with wind chill values in the single digits.

Wednesday Hi: 51 Lo: 26 Cloudy; A few AM showers possible; Some clearing at night; NW wind 10-15 mph and gusty

Thursday Hi: 48 Lo: 27 Partly cloudy during the day with increasing clouds at night; NW wind 5-10 mph

Friday Hi: 50 Lo: 29 Becoming mostly cloudy; Turning colder at night with light rain showers changing to light snow showers or flurries

Saturday Hi: 40 Lo: 18 Mostly cloudy with AM flurries possible; Decreasing clouds at night and much colder

Sunday Hi: 39 Lo: 18 Mostly sunny and continued cold

Further Out

Monday - Partly cloudy during the day with increasing clouds at night; High in the upper 40s; Low in the mid 20s
Tuesday - Mostly cloudy; High near 50 degrees; Low in the lower 30s

Forecast Discussion

A weak front will pass through the area this morning with clouds and a few showers. Skies will begin to clear out on Thursday as high pressure builds in. Temps will not be drastically colder on Thursday, though (only about 5 degrees colder than today).

The real arctic air arrives this weekend with the next cold front scheduled to arrive Friday night. Again with this front there may be a few showers out of ahead of it Friday evening. As the front passes through, the rain showers will mix with and change to light snow showers or flurries overnight Friday into Saturday morning. At best, there may be a dusting in the highest elevations. The bigger story will be the cold air. Highs on Saturday and Sunday will struggle to reach the 40 degree mark while lows are expected to drop into the teens. Wind chill values could drop into the single digits Saturday night.

Beyond the weekend, the forecast is a bit more uncertain. A strong storm system may develop in the Plains and begin to approach the area early next week. With cold air in place it is entirely possible that some areas could see some wintry precipitation Monday night or Tuesday. Confidence in this is low right now, however, so stay tuned...

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