‘Dangerously cold wind chills’ as low as 30 below possible in CNY; warning issued

Saturday's temperatures could be the coldest so far this winter

In this Jan. 31, 2019, file photo, Lou Rodriguez, of Syracuse, bundles up as he walks down South Salina Street as the wind chill hit 13 below zero. Glenn Coin | gcoin@syracuse.comGlenn Coin | gcoin@syracuse.com

Update: The National Weather Service has upgraded the wind chill watch to a more serious wind chill warning.

Syracuse, N.Y. -- The coldest air of the winter so far could combine with strong winds to create wind chills as low as 30 below zero in Central New York this weekend.

The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill watch for Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Lewis, Oswego and Jefferson counties from Friday evening to Saturday afternoon.

“The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes,” the alert said.

The forecast calls for a temperature of 5 below zero in Syracuse early Saturday. That would make it the coldest day of the season so far. The coldest to now was last Saturday, when the temperature dipped to 3 below.

Wind gusts could reach 23 mph early Saturday. The high temperature on Saturday will be just 6 degrees, the weather service said.

Sunday morning will be nearly as cold, with temperatures again dropping below zero.

“This will be a prolonged very cold conditions,” the weather service said in the wind chill warning. “This could lead to pipes freezing.”

A major winter storm could hit Upstate New York on Sunday night and bring heavy snow Monday and more lake effect snow through Tuesday.

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