October Cold Front Makes For A Chilly Wisconsin Weekend

Wisconsin is getting a taste of wintry weather in mid-October, thanks to a strong cold front moving east across the state.

Meteorologist Logan Lee, of the National Weather Service in La Crosse, said the air mass made a noticeable impact on conditions.

“Pretty early this morning that cold front came through and temperatures dropped very rapidly, a 20- to 30-degree drop in a six-hour time period,” he said.

There are freeze warnings in effect for much of the state overnight and rain, snow and mixed precipitation are all possible through the weekend.

Wind chills have been in the 20s and 30s for much of the day Friday in western Wisconsin and could be even colder into the night.

Forecasters say warmer temperatures should be on the way by the middle of next week.

Meteorologist Paul Collar, of the National Weather Service-Milwaukee in Sullivan, said it isn’t unusual for temperatures to dip below freezing at this time of year although he did say the cold snap isn’t likely to linger.

“We’re not looking at this coolness looking like it’s going to hang around for too long,” he said. “We’re going to see some milder temperatures return. It’s just tough to take because we’ve had so many mild days and pleasant days, so it’s tough, but not unusual.”