Hazardous Weather Outlook: Bone-Chilling Cold, High Wind, Chance of Snow in Iowa City Forecast

It hasn't been below zero for quit some time in Iowa City.

That could change by Monday.

So if you’d planned to take down holiday decorations on Monday – a day off for some workers because it’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday – you might want to move that ahead to today, or even Sunday if you’re feeling on the brave side.

Monday will be downright bone-chilling, according to the Hazardous Weather Outlook by the National Weather Service in the Quad Cities.

It will be mostly sunny today, with a high near 52, but a west northwest wind 13 to 18 mph will increase to 21 to 26 mph in the afternoon, with gusts as high as 34 mph. A cold front will move into Iowa tonight, sending overnight termperatures plummeting:

STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS WILL OVERSPREAD THE AREA BY THIS EVENING FOLLOWING THE PASSAGE OF AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT. WIND SPEEDS FROM 25 TO 35 MPH WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH WILL OCCUR IN PORTIONS OF NORTHEASTERN IOWA GENERALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM CEDAR RAPIDS...TO SABULA ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT

FOR THESE AREAS FROM EARLY EVENING THROUGH MIDNIGHT. ACROSS THE REST OF THE OUTLOOK AREA WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WILL OCCUR TONIGHT ALONG WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH. THESE BRISK WINDS WILL COMBINE WITH INCOMING COLD ARCTIC AIR TO PRODUCE WIND CHILLS OF 5 BELOW TO 10 BELOW ZERO LATE TONIGHT NORTH OF INTERSTATE 80. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY SUNDAY AND MONDAY...WIND CHILLS MAY DROP TO AS LOW AS 10 TO 20 BELOW DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS.

Sunday, daytime temperatures will recover to about 19, but there’s a chance of scattered flurries in the afternoon and evening. Overnight temperatures will be around around 1, with wind chill temperatures as low as -15 below zero.

Then get ready for that deep freeze. The high Monday will only be about 12, according to the weather service.

There will be some relief coming by next Wednesday, however, as the high should be back up toward freezing again at 28 degrees.