Cold blast to freeze Midwest, Northeast following weekend storm

A fresh blast of cold air is expected to spill into the Midwest and Northeast following this weekend's snowstorm.

While warmups have been rare across the northern half of the nation this winter, temperatures are expected to plummet even lower during the first week of the month.

"At least the first half of the expression 'In like a lion, out like a lamb' will prove true this March," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Edwards said.

"Temperatures in Chicago have been at least 10 F below average for four of the last five days," he said. "Early Monday morning, temperatures there could drop below zero again for the first time since January."

As a winter storm streaks through the Midwest and off the New England coast Sunday to Monday, frigid air currently bottled up in Canada will spill into the northern Plains, Midwest, then Northeast in its wake.

"Throughout the central Plains, temperatures will fall nearly constantly from Saturday afternoon through early Monday morning, from seasonal levels to the single digits or lower," Edwards said.

Monday is predicted to start off with subzero temperatures in areas as far south as Wichita, Kansas and Kansas City.

This could be the coldest morning of the season so far in these areas, with temperatures forecast to plummet below the single-digit readings from Feb. 8.

Related: Winter storms and weather across the U.S.

The effectiveness of ice-melting compounds will be greatly reduced during the nighttime and early morning hours in the wake of the storm. All efforts should be made to remove the snow as fast as possible in the storm's wake for property owners and city, township and state crews.

The leading edge of the coldest air will reach the Northeast the next day, with temperatures bottoming out on Tuesday morning. Residents of Pittsburgh, Binghamton, New York and much of northern New England can anticipate single-digit lows that day.

"Unfortunately this cold spell isn't going to be balanced out by a quick warmup," Edwards said. "Instead, temperatures are going to stay well below average for much of the week."

Despite an average high temperature in the mid-30s, temperatures in Minneapolis will struggle to exceed the teens through midweek.

In Columbus, temperatures will also remain about 20 F below average for a string of several days.

Even as far east as the Interstate-95 corridor, overnight temperatures are forecast to dip into the teens each morning from Tuesday through the end of the week despite average lows around 30 F.

Download the free AccuWeather app to see how cold it will become in your area.

According to Edwards, windy weather is not anticipated to stick around once the snowstorm has passed.

"While the lack of wind will limit the threat for frostbite, it will still be important to cover as much exposed skin as possible when spending time outside in dangerously cold weather," he said.

A shift in the weather pattern at the start of next weekend will mark a return to more seasonable conditions throughout the Midwest and Northeast.