Rowan weather: Frigid air blows in Wednesday
Published 7:41 am Monday, January 5, 2015
Enjoy today and tomorrow, because Old Man Winter is blowing in with a vengeance on Wednesday. We will experience the coldest temperatures of the winter so far.
With a start in the upper 30s today, sunny skies will bring the temperature up to 47 degrees. But you’ll feel a chill from northwest wind at 8-11 mph, gusting up to 18 mph. Tonight’s low will be cold, 27 degrees.
For Tuesday, we warm up to 50 under sunny skies. The wind will shift to the southwest at 6-11 mph. Tuesday’s low will be 30, with wind shifting back to the west northwest.
Arctic air moves in Wednesday and sticks around into Friday, with temperatures 10-20 degrees below normal. Wednesday’s high will be only 37 degrees, under partly sunny skies. The wind will keep blowing from the west northwest at 6-15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 miles per hour. The wind chill will be as low as 14 degrees.
Wednesday night will be dangerously cold, with a low of 12 degrees. The wind chill could go as low as 0 degrees. Pets must be brought inside or given warm shelter and a source of water that will not freeze. Homeowners should protect and turn off their outside water sources, and those in older homes may want to consider leaving water dripping in a sink or tub. If you must use a space heater, keep it well away from flammable materials, including beds, curtains, etc. Never go to sleep with the heater on.
The wind chill on Thursday will reach dangerous levels, with cold temperatures and gusty northwest winds of 5-15 mph. The high will be only 27 degrees. Avoid prolonged outdoor exposure. Thursday night’s low will be back in the teens — 16 degrees, with the wind chill as low as 9 degrees..
Friday will be sunny, and we’ll be back in the 40s, with a high of 42, but another cold night, with a low of 22.
Saturday will be partly sunny and still chilly, with a high of 41 and a low around 27 degrees.
Sunday brings a 30 percent chance of rain, with a high near 43.