Iowans Brace for Dangerous Wind Chills Thursday Morning

Iowans will want to bundle up as an “arctic blast” pushes into the state tonight, bringing some of the coldest temperatures of the season by early Thursday.

Meteorologist Jim Lee with the National Weather Service office in Des Moines says much of Iowa may set record lows by sunrise, with actual temperatures dipping well into the teens below zero. Light winds will offer only limited relief, as wind chills are expected to fall near 20-below.

“The good news is that the winds will be relatively light,” Lee says. “Wind chill temperatures will be somewhat lower than the actual air temperatures, probably in the range of about 20-below or so.”

The bitter cold won’t last long. Lee says temperatures will slowly recover through the day on Thursday, reaching highs around 10 to 12 degrees. By Friday, highs could nearly reach 30.

More snow is possible this weekend—likely Saturday night—but Lee says any new snowfall should be far lighter than last weekend’s storm, which dumped up to 16 inches in parts of the state.