Seasonably warm temperatures to extreme cold in store for the region.
SPRINGFIELD— The area will be knocked from one end the weather spectrum to the other in the matter of a few days, weather forecasters say. Thanks to something they are calling the "Polar Vortex," the entire region will go from Arctic cold to seasonably moderate temperatures, then back to dangerous extreme cold in the matter of a few days.
New England shivered this weekend under some of the coldest temperatures it has suffered in decades. Friday night into Saturday morning saw temperatures as low as 17 below zero at Westover Municipal Airport in Chicopee, 13 below in Greenfield and minus 8 degrees in Springfield.
On the other extreme, CBS3 meteorologist Mike Skurko is forecasting temperatures in the 40's later Sunday into Monday. He said we may see periods of freezing rain before it changes over to all rain by Sunday afternoon. The rain will continue into Monday morning.
But then, the Polar Vortex, a huge counter clockwise flow of air, will pull a frigid Arctic air mass down from northern Canada into the Midwest, as far south as the Gulf Coast and on into New England.
Meteorologists are forecasting lows in the range of 25 to 30 degrees below zero in the Midwest and wind chill factors as low as 70 below zero. Minnesota has called off school for the entire state Monday, the first time that has happened in 17 years.
New England may not see temperatures that low when the Vortex hits here Tuesday, Skurko said. But, low temperatures below zero may be likely Tuesday night into Wednesday.
The extreme cold may disrupt air travel as aircraft may be grounded by the cold. And if a 250-pound defensive tackle is not enough to make professional football a challenge, meteorologists are predicting that the Packers-49ers NFL game in Green Bay will start with a temperature of about 2-below zero. It may get colder as the game progresses.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.