Extreme cold warning expires after lunch hour, but temps dip back down into teens overnight

The sun is out, but it is so cold right now that it is barely providing any warmth at all across the area which feels more like a tundra than the deep south today.

Heaters are cranked up, sinks should be dripping and the Extreme Cold Warning put in place by the National Weather Service is expiring at 1 p.m., but this cold ain’t going nowhere at least until Thursday when temperatures begin to climb back up toward seasonal for the region.

Today’s high will stay below the freezing point at just 31 degrees, and dip down tonight to 15 degrees as clear skies remain through the day and night. Bitter cold continues on Tuesday as students return to school from the MLK Day holiday with a high of only 33, and down to just nine degrees above 0 for overnight temps.

Additionally, Tuesday’s afternoon forecast does have a 30% chance of snow – but little or no accumulation is in store for Polk County as snowfall is trending further south in the Metro Atlanta area and through Central Georgia. Climates which rarely see snow along the gulf coast are forecast to also see white stuff thanks to the frozen temps brought about from the combination of the polar vortex drifting far south, and moisture being pulled from the Gulf of Mexico pushing onshore.

The shores of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia might all end up with snowfall on Tuesday.

After the latest front moves through and might bring some flurries to the area, the forecast will start to warm up again. Wednesday look for temps to start the trend – a high of 39 and a low of 18 – but by Thursday, temps should start hitting the 40s during the day and down into the 20s overnight.

By the time Polk County gets to the coming weekend, NWS Peachtree City has a forecast with temps up into the 50s and down into the 30s overnight.

Anyone in need of a warming shelter during the bitter cold today and ahead can contact Community Share Ministries for help. They’ll be running a shelter through Thursday for those who hunker down overnight. Contact John at 770-238-8901 or Jason at 678-634-4395. Make sure reach out before 5 p.m. to arrange a pickup.

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