'Dangerously cold' wind chills and snow on tap for Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend

Elizabeth Murray, Burlington Free Press
·2 min read

A possible winter weather double-whammy has been forecast for the holiday weekend encompassing Martin Luther King Jr. Day, according to Vermont meteorologists.

Almost the entire state was expected to be under a wind chill warning Friday at 7 p.m., and the warning was expected to last through much of Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Burlington.

Wind chills — or the temperature a person's skin feels when the wind is factored in — were expected to be as low as 30 to 45 degrees below zero. The lowest wind chills were expected to occur between 11 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday for most of the state, the service's warning stated.

More: How cold did it feel in Vermont? The 10 most frigid wind chills during the cold snap.

Pedestrians brave cold weather for a stroll along the boardwalk at Waterfront Park in Burlington on Wednesday, December 27, 2017.
Pedestrians brave cold weather for a stroll along the boardwalk at Waterfront Park in Burlington on Wednesday, December 27, 2017.

"The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes," the alert stated. It added, "Avoid outside activities if possible. When outside, make sure you wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves."

Vermonters will get a brief reprieve on Sunday before snow enters the forecast. A winter storm watch is in effect for Monday, according to the National Weather Service in Burlington.

The steadiest snowfall was predicted to occur Monday morning and early afternoon, according to information shared on the service's Facebook page. A Friday afternoon forecast predicted that most of the northern and western parts of Vermont were expected to see 6 to 8 inches of snow, while higher elevations in the middle and southern parts of the state could see 8 to 12 inches.

More forecasts and information about weather patterns can be found on the National Weather Service's website, weather.gov/btv, and on their Twitter account twitter.com/NWSBurlington.

Contact Elizabeth Murray at 802-310-8585 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizMurrayBFP.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont expecting frigid wind chills, snow during MLK Jr. Day weekend