Tracking Freezing Temperatures in the U.S.

A cold Arctic air mass will drop temperatures well below zero this weekend, reaching minus 20 to even possibly minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit across the Northern Plains, according to forecasters with the National Weather Service.

Freezing temperatures for the next three days

By Monday and Tuesday the freezing temperatures will sweep southward all the way to the Gulf Coast.

A blast of freezing cold Arctic air can be dangerous, especially when combined with blustery winds. Wind removes heat from your body, very similarly to when soup or a hot beverage is cooled when you blow over it.

In order to measure how cold it really feels outside, the National Weather Service forecasts a wind chill temperature, which accounts for the wind speed along with temperature. The stronger the wind speed, the colder the wind chill. If your body temperature goes below 95 degrees Fahrenheit, hypothermia can set in.

With prolonged exposure to very cold temperatures, another danger is frostbite. Your body’s survival mechanism in response to extreme cold is to protect the vital inner organs by cutting circulation to your extremities and allowing them to freeze. By looking at the potential wind speed and the forecast temperature, if it is expected to be below freezing, you can estimate the time it would take for exposed skin to catch frostbite.

Look up the risk of frostbite in places across the country, and to see if a location will be below freezing and if it will feel even colder.