Frigid temperatures are set to hit the Peoria area beginning late Thursday night, as a rush of cold, Arctic air descends on central Illinois for the weekend.
The National Weather Service in Lincoln has already issued an extreme cold watch for the Peoria area beginning at 3 a.m. Friday morning, as a series of cold fronts bring frigid temperatures into the area. Overnight lows on Thursday could drop to four degrees below zero, with high temperatures on Friday only expected to hit three degrees above zero.
Wind chills could drop to as low as 25 degrees below zero, according to NWS meteorologist Alex Erwin, who said that a high pressure system will push the cold air into the Midwest, including Illinois.
“By Friday morning, we’ll have frigid temperatures in place,” Erwin said. “When you add the wind on top of that, we’re expecting sustained winds around 15 mph, gusting 20-30 mph, it’s going to result in wind chill values falling to 20-25 degrees below zero.”
Colder wind chills are expected for areas north of Peoria, with some places in the Chicago area possibly seeing wind chills around 35 degrees below zero.
“You don’t have to go too much further north to be seeing 30 degrees below or colder than that,” Erwin said.
The cold air is likely to linger through the weekend, with single-digit temperatures expected for Saturday and highs in the teens for Sunday. However, Erwin noted that while there is a chance for snow on Saturday, it might not bring the sort of accumulation areas south of Peoria might experience.
“We don’t expect any kind of big accumulation in the Peoria area,” Erwin said. “It’s still pretty early at this point, it could end up being no accumulation at all. At this point, it looks like the chances increase as you get further south. Right now, it looks like the best chance of measurable snow is actually in areas south of Interstate 70 (in) some of the southern part of Illinois.”
Erwin did say that if Peoria got measurable snowfall over the weekend, it would likely be the kind of light, fluffy snow due to the cold air. However, ground conditions may lead to slick roadways.
“Given how cold it is, even a little bit of snow on the roadways can create slick conditions that make traveling dangerous,” Erwin said. “If something happens and you end up in a ditch or something, the extreme cold will put your life at risk.”
With the cold means an increased risk of frostbite for those unprepared for the conditions, with Erwin noting that it would only take 30 minutes for it to settle in on uncovered skin. He recommends that people dress in loose-fitting layers if they need to go out, keep themselves dry and put together a safety kit if they need to travel, with blankets being an important part of it.
“It really is some dangerous conditions being forecast,” Erwin said.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Dangerous cold, possible snow headed to Peoria. Here’s the forecast
Reporting by Zach Roth, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
