Don’t be deceived! The spring feels for Friday will not last and quickly drop off by Saturday as a strong cold front and polar air mass settle in over the northern US.

Temperatures on this Friday will be 15 to 20 degrees warmer than average. The average high on January 17th is 31 degrees for Des Moines.

Strong southwest winds and plenty of sunshine will allow temperatures to warm quickly through the day. The winds will then take a sharp turn from the northwest in the evening and usher in the beginning of the cold air.

The wind and colder temperatures will bring a drop in windchills below zero, as soon as Saturday morning. We’ll have lows in the -5 to -15 range by 8 AM Saturday.

Overnight lows will go even lower below zero Sunday through Tuesday mornings. The coldest morning will be Tuesday morning with a low of -7.

The unfortunate part of this cold weather settling in and the arrival of the cold front is that no snow will come with it. We are in a snow drought, behind by more than 11″ for the year as of January 16th. There is no sign of a change to snowier weather for Iowa.

We will return to near-normal temperatures by Wednesday and Thursday of next week.