7 PM Update: The extreme cold watch has been upgraded to a warning. A winter weather advisory has been issued for Walworth, Racine, ad Kenosha counties until 11 pm.
A winter weather advisory has been issued for Walworth, Racine, and Kenosha counties for a narrow band of snow moves in. The advisory will go until 11 pm. A quick couple of inches is possible within the advisory.
Lower visibility and road problems are possible. Please use caution.
The extreme cold watch has been upgraded for the entire area. The warning starts at 12 AM Friday and lasts until 1 PM. It was exactly one year since our last extreme cold advisory was issued.
The problem for us is the wind chill. Chills Friday morning will feel like -30 to -40. Winds will gust to 30 mph Friday morning.
Frostbite can occur in 10 minutes for any exposed skin. Please check on folks who might not have heat. Also, bring in your outdoor pets and animals.
The high on Friday is subzero. The last time this occurred was January, 2019.
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1pm Update:
Our Extreme Cold Watch is still expected to go into effect late Thursday night until Saturday morning. It is advised to limit time outdoors as air temperatures will not even reach as warm as zero, and with a gusty wind, they will feel around 40 below to start the day on Friday.
Otherwise, it is "mild" today with highs finally back into the 20s. Quiet conditions are holding to start the afternoon, but a chance for snow is still present through tonight. Another 0.5"-1" is possible into tomorrow AM, with the highest totals being areas south. A few flurries are expected to move through tomorrow afternoon, but these should not create accumulation and will wrap up in the evening. Despite being cold this weekend, at least we will be quiet.
The first round of snow Wednesday morning is just about done with just a few flakes and flurries left flying around out there. Snow totals ranged from 0.5-2.5" for the first round of snow. It made roads slippery during the overnight hours but road conditions improved quickly during the morning commute.
The next round of snow is still on track for Wednesday evening with chances after 5 PM. Some areas of moderate to heavy snow will still be possible Wednesday evening with a slight concern for some snow squalls where visibility drops rapidly causing quickly deteriorating road conditions.
Additional snow accumulation for the second round of snow Wednesday afternoon/evening looks to be in the half inch to inch and a half range. That could push some totals on snowfall from Tuesday evening through Wednesday evening over 4" in some areas.
Temperatures on Wednesday aren't too bad and are the warmest they will be over the next week with highs in the 20s. Thursday is not too bad for temps hanging out in the teens most of the day but by Friday the high temperature drops below-zero for the first time in seven years. Saturday is slightly better with highs at least above-zero then Sunday is back into the teens but still chilly.
The breeze will be noticeable on Wednesday from 10-20 mph. But then the wind really picks up Wednesday night with gusts to 40 mph as the next round of cold air returns. Winds will stay strong Thursday and Friday with gusts to 30 or 35 mph.
That strong wind for the end of the week combined with the bitter cold air temperatures will push wind chills to some of the coldest levels in years. An Extreme Cold Watch has already been issued from midnight Thursday night into Friday morning through noon on Saturday. That Extreme Cold Watch will likely be upgraded to an Extreme Cold Warning sometime on Wednesday.
After reasonable wind chills on Wednesday in the single digits and teens we will see wind chills go sub-zero Thursday morning to -10. Then the dangerous cold starts to arrive heading into Friday morning.
Wind chills Friday morning will be the worst and most dangerous part of this cold blast with wind chills dropping as cold as -40. Wind chills during the day Friday don't get much better than -25 and Saturday morning could see wind chills as cold as -35.
Download the CBS 58 Weather app to track the second round of snow Wednesday evening and the dangerous cold to follow for the weekend.