Blizzard, wind chill alerts this weekend

It could be a cold weekend in parts of the US

An arctic front is expected to move into the northern plains on Friday before pushing further south on Saturday.

The system is expected to bring dangerous wind chills to affected areas, with high temperatures 10 to 20 degrees below average in some areas, according to meteorologists with the National Weather Service.

“This will result in high, near-zero temperatures Saturday from northeast Montana through North Dakota, northeast South Dakota and northwest Minnesota. These cold temperatures combined with windy conditions will result in dangerous wind chill levels in these areas this weekend,” weather forecasters said.

Here is the weather forecast for Friday:

On the trail of the next winter storm

A storm expected in the United States this week will bring snow to western and central Montana and parts of Wyoming on Friday, according to AccuWeather.

The same system is also expected to bring snow to parts of Idaho, Colorado and Utah over the weekend.

The storm is expected to transition to Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin by Saturday and hit Michigan and parts of Indiana early Sunday.

Blizzard warning in parts of North Dakota, Minnesota

A blizzard warning was in effect through Friday noon, the National Weather Service in North Dakota said.

Total snow accumulations were expected to be up to two inches, but wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour were expected in parts of the northern and central Red River Valleys in Minnesota and North Dakota.

• What is a blizzard? A snowstorm is defined as “continued winds or frequent gusts of 35 miles per hour or more with snow and blowing snow that often reduce visibility to less than a quarter of a mile,” according to the National Weather Service. These conditions usually last for several hours.

Travel should be “limited to emergencies only,” officials warned, as driving snow creates dangerous conditions.

Winter Storm Tracker

National Weather Radar