How to prepare for the impending arctic air intrusion

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - With the extreme cold set to arrive this evening and tonight, it’s imperative that you use the daylight hours today to finalize any preparations that need to be done.

This shot of arctic air will be hazardous and dangerous if proper precautions are not taken. With that in mind, we highly recommend preparing important things like your home, vehicle, furry friends, and yourself.

There are a number of things to do to prepare for extreme cold.(WSFA 12 News)

This is true even for newer homes and vehicles. The mindset of, “It won’t happen to me,” is plain nonsense. There is not a single person, pet, home, or vehicle immune to cold like we’re going to get tonight through the Christmas weekend.

And the last thing you want is for something to happen while it’s frigid outside. Nobody wants their pipes to burst, their vehicle to break down or their heating system to malfunction.

So if you have not crossed off the to-do’s on the lists above and below, consider doing so today while it’s mainly dry and relatively mild.

Minimum temperatures will fall into the teens and lower 20s tomorrow morning, followed by widespread teens Friday night and Saturday night. Many will even fall into the upper teens Sunday night.

Pair those temperatures with daytime highs in the upper 20s tomorrow, lower 30s Saturday and upper 30s Christmas Day. The result? A bitterly and dangerously cold stretch of weather by Central Alabama standards.

It’s looking likely that a large portion of the WSFA 12 News viewing area will stay at or below freezing for 48-60 hours. That period will stretch from around midnight tonight to lunchtime on Christmas. Even if some of us get to 33° or 34° on Saturday it really won’t change the impacts or messaging.

The worst of the cold will be tonight, tomorrow and tomorrow night into Saturday. Wind chills tonight into tomorrow morning will be in the single digits to as low as -5°. Wind chills will remain in the single digits and lower teens all day long tomorrow. Then we’re back into the single digits tomorrow night into Saturday morning. Some locations will probably see a wind chill as low as 0° by sunrise on Christmas Eve.

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