Cold weather commentary from MWN

You all know "IT" is coming - the extreme cold, but southern standards - but here are some things to consider regarding the upcoming cold blast that is due to arrive tonight:

• Based on my current forecast, I expect temperatures to stay below freezing at Memphis Int'l for about 60 consecutive hours, beginning tonight shortly after midnight and continuing through late morning Saturday. Thursday's high will be 27 and Friday will be 29.
  
• Thursday night will be the coldest night: 10 at the airport, 5 at the WXLIVE! sensor in Bartlett and places like Arlington, Collierville, Millington, and Olive Branch. This would be the lowest temperature recorded at the airport since 1/24/03 when the mercury also dropped to 10. The last time we recorded single digits was 1/11/97 when the low was 8 (and the high was 20). Record temperatures are well below these levels though, so I don't expect any records to fall.
  
• Wind chills will make the cold feel even colder with "feels like" temperatures dropping below zero Thursday night/early Friday and in the single digits late tonight through mid-day Wednesday.
  
• At least we're not farther north! Temps across the Midwest and Northern Plains are struggling to get above zero and wind chills are in the -30 to -50 range - in the Continental U.S.! We're not talking about Alaska or Siberia here.

Please do take all necessary precautions against the cold weather: dress in layers, make sure pets are protected and warm, watch over the elderly and very young, and wrap pipes if necessary to keep them from freezing. Fortunately we're not going to be dealing with winter precipitation this time around, but don't let that keep you from being prepared.

Stay warm and stay safe, and be sure to check in on MemphisWeather.net for the latest updates during this Arctic blast.