It could be a frigid weekend in parts of the U.S.
An arctic front is forecast to move into the Northern Plains on Friday before pushing further into the South on Saturday.
The system is forecast to bring dangerous wind chills in the affected areas, according to National Weather Service meteorologists, with high temperatures in some areas 10-to-20 degrees below average.
“This translates into high temperatures near zero Saturday from northeastern Montana, across North Dakota, northeast South Dakota and northwest Minnesota. These cold temperatures combined with windy conditions will result in dangerous wind chills readings this weekend across these areas,” meteorologists said.
Here’s the weather outlook for Friday:
Tracking the next winter storm
A storm expected to drop into the United States this week will bring snow to western and central Montana and parts of Wyoming on Friday, according to AccuWeather.
The same system is also set to bring snow to parts of Idaho, Colorado and Utah over the weekend.
The storm is expected to cross over to Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin by Saturday, reaching Michigan and parts of Indiana by early Sunday.
Blizzard warning bears down in parts of North Dakota, Minnesota
A blizzard warning was in effect until noon on Friday, the National Weather Service in North Dakota said.
Total snow accumulations were expected to be up to two inches, but winds were expected to gust up to 60 miles per hour in parts of the northern and central Red River Valley in Minnesota and North Dakota.
- What is a blizzard? A blizzard is defined by “sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with snow and blowing snow frequently reducing visibility to less than a quarter mile,” according to to the National Weather Service. Those conditions usually last for several hours.
Travel should be “restricted to emergencies only,” officials warned, with blowing snow creating hazardous conditions.
