Lowest temperatures of season coming this weekend

During the day today it will be mostly sunny, cold and windy with a high around 30 degrees. Winds will generally be breezy, and at times gusts will rise as high as 25 mph. The wind will begin to abate a few hours after dark. Skies will remain largely clear, with temperatures falling to an overnight low around 17 degrees, the NWS said.

It will be sunny and cold again Wednesday, with high temperatures staying below freezing at around 31 degrees. Clouds will start to increase again Wednesday night as temperatures plunge into the upper teens.

Starting soon after dawn Thursday, there will be a slight chance of snow, which around noontime will change over to a chance of rain. Precipitation chances quickly rise throughout the day, with showers becoming likely by the afternoon. High temperatures will be around 40 degrees. Rain will continue throughout the night, the NWS predicted, though as temperatures fall to an overnight low around 31 degrees it will mix with snow again in the early-morning hours of Friday.

Skies on Friday look to be mostly cloudy with highs in the 20s.

A significant cold spell is expected Saturday night. The extreme cold may mean high temperatures in the teens with low temperatures in the single digits, possibly below zero, that can lead to dangerously cold wind chills.

Prolonged exposure to these bitter conditions can lead to frostbite or hypothermia. Some signs of frostbite include a burning sensation, tingling or numbing. Hypothermia can begin with shivering, followed by drowsiness, shallow breathing, slurred speech and, eventually, unconsciousness and death.

Temperatures are expected to drop still further on Sunday, with the high will only reaching 14 degrees. Overnight the low temperature will fall to minus 3 degrees, the NWS said.

Southwest Ohio has not had single-digit temperatures in nearly two years.