First Alert: Bitterly cold wind chills Friday morning

SAGINAW, Mich. (WNEM) - We’ve seen our share of cold temperatures this week, but the coldest of the week may have waited until the very last day of the workweek to show up.

An arctic cold front passing through the area tonight is not only bringing a round of snow showers, but some of the coldest wind chills we’ve seen this season. Wind Chill Advisories have been issued for Friday morning, and we won’t get much relief through the day with actual temperatures not moving much from morning to afternoon.

Thankfully for those who aren’t a fan of the cold, there is some relief in the TV5 First Alert 7-Day Forecast, it just won’t be Friday.

This Evening & Overnight

Snow showers passing through this evening are dropping visibilities here and there, and while an inconvenience for the evening drive, these should move out quickly. Although it won’t be a ton of snow accumulation wise, with our temperatures running cold this week, it won’t take much to make things slick on roads, so take it easy.

As cold air settles in tonight, some lake-effect snow and flurries could linger, especially to the north, but this will be much less widespread than this evening.

Wind chills are already dropping in our counties to the north and will only fall as we go through the night. Winds will remain around 10 to 20 miles per hour overnight and with actual temperatures dropping near 0 or even below, wind chills will be much colder. Values between -5 to -15 will be common, with our coldest locations pushing -20.

With wind chills like these, frostbite can occur within 30 minutes, so make sure the students (and yourselves) are prepared at the bus stops tomorrow morning. And it won’t improve much during the day, so make sure they’re prepared all day.

Friday

Scattered snow will be possible through the day on Friday, but at this time, we’re not expected to see widespread snow. The best chance will be in our counties to the north, and areas to the south may only see flurries. Outside of that, expect skies to be partly to mostly cloudy on Friday, with the best chance for sun in the earlier parts of the day.

With highs only in the upper single digits and teens on Friday, wind chills will remain cold all day long, with values near and below zero all day. Northwest winds around 5 to 15 miles per hour are expected through the day, with gusts near 20 miles per hour.

Snow showers should wind down in most areas for Friday evening, though there is a slight chance of snow in areas to the north on Friday night and early Saturday. This round of snow would move through very quickly overnight, with minor accumulation if any.

Lows on Friday will settle near and below zero again on Friday night.

Copyright 2023 WNEM. All rights reserved.