Arctic front poised to blow through this evening

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The long awaited Arctic blast is just hours away as the frontal passage is expected to occur later this evening setting the stage for a frigid stretch of weather into Christmas weekend.

A fine, misty drizzle has been the story through the night and into this morning. This drizzle and low hanging cloud deck should start to dissipate as the morning progresses and we may actually get some sun today. Any sun will make it feel really nice out as highs climb into the low to mid 60s.

Get ready for rapid changes this evening as the Arctic boundary moves through sending temperatures tumbling and winds turn quite gusty. Wind gusts between 40 to 50 mph are expected behind the front with a rapid 20-30 degree drop. Come first thing Friday, we’ll be waking up to widespread 20s across the entire area with some teens possible far north. Wind chills will dip into the single digits and teens.

That means you should have all protections in place by tonight. Today will be your last day to protect pets/plants/pipes/people.

Once we move into Friday, I don’t see us getting above freezing during the afternoon. Now it will still be sunny but very cold. Highs around 32 can be expected before we quickly fall back into the 20s during the evening. Multiple nights through the holiday weekend will see a Hard Freeze and the days won’t be much better with highs in the 30s.

Maybe by the middle of next week we return to a normal chill for this time of year!

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