The National Weather Service of the Quad Cities’ lead meteorologist Alex Gibbs says a cold-weather advisory will be in effect from 9 this evening through noon tomorrow (Jan. 21).
“There's also an extreme-cold warning, which is in effect for, basically, areas of Highway 30 and north, with wind-chills as low as 31 to 32 below zero. That's in effect from midnight tonight through about 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. Even when that recovers, about 9:00 a.m., we could still see wind-chills below 20, below zero, probably through 11:00 a.m.,” Gibbs said.
He says the recent thirty-below-zero wind-chills in the area could pose hazards and that commuters should let their cars warm up before driving.
“When we see wind-chills at 30 below zero, we're expecting frostbite on exposed skin to form in as little as 30 minutes. So, basically, what we tell people to do is, they need to bundle up. They may cover all exposed skin, dressed in layers, especially if you're going outside during these conditions—and also that you try not to have less than half a tank of gas in your vehicle, as well, when it’s this cold out,” Gibbs said.
The recent excessive cold in the region likely won’t bring any snow conditions, but there are chances.
“So the fact that we don't have snow on the ground is actually a positive for us, because we probably would be a lot colder. Past 48 hours, there's a chance, possibly, for some snow later Tuesday night into Wednesday. That's a sneaky little system, so we're still trying to diagnose what we expect with that,” Gibbs said.
Gibbs says single-digit temperatures will dominate into tomorrow and parts of Wednesday. The possibility for temperatures in the upper 20s and 30s is expected later this week.
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