Bundle up! Bitter cold temperatures expected this week in eastern Idaho - East Idaho News
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Bundle up! Bitter cold temperatures expected this week in eastern Idaho

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IDAHO FALLS — The National Weather Service says freezing air is building up and making its way into eastern Idaho this week.

Monday morning brought snow through much of the area and that will slow down through Tuesday, according to NWS forecasters. Forecasts show the weather will dry up into Wednesday but only get colder as frigid air comes into eastern Idaho with dangerously low wind chills.

“One of the biggest concerns when it comes to those cold temperatures and those wind chills is how it’s making the apparent temperature,” NWS Meteorologist Carter MacKay told EastIdahoNews.com. “When we have those wind chills, even a light wind … it can drastically change how it feels outside.”

The forecast calls for lows in the single to negative digits Tuesday morning for Island Park, Stanley, Arco and the Upper Snake River Plain. The NWS predicts five to 15 mph winds will set wind chill at -10 to -20 degrees below zero in the upper eastern Idaho regions of Island Park, Ashton and Spencer.

The cold wind chills are expected to make the air feel below zero Tuesday for areas like Rexburg, Idaho Falls and Blackfoot, according to the NWS.

“Right now, we don’t have any wind chill warning out for this area,” NWS Meteorologist Kevin Smith said in a Weather Hazard Briefing Monday morning. “We’re watching how the forecast trends as far as exact readings and what coverage we can get under those significantly cold wind chills.”

The cold temperatures don’t stop Tuesday and get more frigid Wednesday morning. Forecasts show actual air temperatures sitting 10 to 20 degrees below zero across eastern Idaho. Even lower elevations of Idaho Falls, Rexburg and Blackfoot will see actual air temperatures below zero.

As long as winds continue Wednesday morning, the wind chills will continue only to drop the feels-like temperatures in the region to dangerous levels.

“You can have temperatures in the single digits below zero, but even with just a light wind especially on the exposed skin, extremities, animals outside, livestock, stuff like that can be really susceptible to a lot of damage,” MacKay said. “… Life really doesn’t exist at that low of temperatures so it’s doing our best to make sure that everyone out there is bundled up and dressed up for the appropriate temperatures.”

For the NWS, wind chill values near -25 are of concern and certainly possible for parts of eastern Idaho. According to the NWS, wind chill values at -25 mean frostbite is possible within 15 minutes. You can read more about wind chills and frostbite on the NWS website.

Highs through the cold days will reach the teens to low 20s across eastern Idaho. Cold temperatures will remain Thursday but be slightly warmer than Tuesday and Wednesday.

“There are some concerns for prolonged cold … when we’re talking about freezing pipes and whatnot, but it looks like this cold snap doesn’t last for too long,” MacKay said. “By the weekend, we should be warming back up. It looks like by Sunday, high temperatures are widespread above freezing.”

For the latest weather information visit the EastIdahoNews.com weather page here.

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