Community Corner

20-Below Wind Chills a Rude Awakening Tuesday in North Jersey

A frigid Arctic air mass will bring gusty winds and dangerous temperatures to the region.

North Jersey residents woke up Monday to temperatures in the mid-50s. Tuesday will be a far different story.

A frigid Arctic storm system will cause temperatures to plummet by as much as 50 degrees by Tuesday morning, according to Frank Lombardo, meteorologist for WeatherWorks in Hackettstown.

"You don't see that very often," Lombardo said.

The wind chill factor will make zero degrees seem like a picnic. State residents will experience wind chills that make it feel like it's 20 to 25 degrees below zero due to strong Arctic gusts, Lombardo said.

The National Weather Service issued a wind chill advisory from 1 a.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday.

The brutally cold temperatures will impact traffic for the Tuesday morning commute. "There will be patches of ice all over the state. Traffic slows in extreme cold combine with the gusty winds," Lombardo added.

As bad as it will be Tuesday, it could be worse. The Midwest just experienced this same frigid cold, but combined with massive snowfall. "Some of my friends are saying that they are digging out from 15-foot snowdrifts," Lombardo said.

Even after the Arctic snap passes, it will still be a cold week. But Lombardo predicts temperatures will moderate for the rest of the month into what will be more normal for a New Jersey January, or even slightly above average temperatures.


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