Below-zero wind chills expected this week

While it won't be as bad as the polar vortex that hit the area earlier this month, the suburbs will experience a second blast of extremely cold temperatures this week, according to the National Weather Service.

“It's the return of some pretty cold air, especially on Tuesday and really lasting through the heart of the week,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist Matt Friedlein.

The first of two cold fronts will move in Monday, dropping temperatures from nearly 30 degrees in the morning to about 3 degrees at night. A reinforcing shot of cold air from a second cold front will occur Wednesday night, resulting in a high of around 9 degrees and low around zero degrees Thursday.

Temperatures are expected to dip below zero midweek, most likely on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Wind chills also are expected to reach 15 to 25 degrees below zero throughout the week.

Friedlein said the weather pattern favors “little shots of light snow” Monday and Wednesday evening, but it appears there won't be much accumulation.

On Friday, temperatures are expected to go back into the 20s, but Friedlein said warmer weather won't last for long.

“We're just not in a favorable setup for a prolonged warm-up,” he said.