TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – After Thursday and Friday, a dangerous arctic blast will grip the Big Bend and South Georgia this weekend, bringing brutally cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills.
What to expect this week🤔
Today will be pleasant with highs in the 50s and mostly sunny skies. Tonight, temperatures will drop to the mid-20s inland, so protect your plants, pets, pipes, and people from the cold.
Thursday and Friday will be transitional days with highs climbing into the 50s and 60s — closer to normal for late January. But don’t get too comfortable. A strong cold front is on its way.
Friday brings scattered showers🌧️
Expect mostly cloudy skies on Friday with scattered showers on and off throughout the day. There’s a 40% chance of rain, but any showers that develop will be brief with minimal impact on your travel plans. Rain totals will stay under a half inch, so you won’t need to worry about any significant rainfall. Just keep an umbrella handy if you’re heading out, but overall, Friday should be manageable for getting around.
Record cold on the way…🥶
Saturday will be brutally cold. Highs will struggle to reach the 30s and 40s, with some areas in southeast Alabama possibly not even reaching freezing. Wind gusts of 25-35 mph will make it feel like the 20s and 30s throughout the day.
But Saturday night is when things get truly dangerous. Lows will plummet to the teens and low 20s area-wide, but with 10-15 mph winds, wind chills will drop into the single digits across nearly the entire region. Prolonged exposure to these conditions could lead to hypothermia.
A few reminders🧥Bring pets inside or provide shelter and extra bedding; that goes for livestock, too. Keep them as warm as possible with extra blankets or layers.Protect your pipes with insulation or by letting faucets drip slightlyCheck on elderly neighbors and relatives who may be vulnerable to the coldDress in layers if you go outside, and limit time in the elementsMarine alert🚤
Boaters and those on the water should be aware of gale conditions developing late Friday into Saturday. Sustained winds will quickly increase to gale force with gusts potentially reaching 40 knots. Seas will be rough to dangerous this weekend. It will be best to stay off the water this weekend.
Looking ahead👀
It will remain very cold into early next week before temperatures moderate again by the middle of next week.
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