Record low temperatures and a bitter breeze will combine to push wind chills into the danger zone through the start of the weekend.

Here are your weather headlines for Friday, January 5, 2018...

The Coldest of the Cold

If you're going to spend any time shoveling snow (or sledding or building a snowman, etc.) on Friday, you'll definitely want to layer up and bundle up. The wicked wind will continue, blowing snow around and adding a big bite to our refreshed arctic air.

Yes, I realize the last week-and-a-half have been very cold here across the Garden State. But please keep in mind the extreme cold that New Jersey will experience through this weekend looks even worse than the rest of our post-Christmas arctic blast.

A Wind Chill Advisory has been issued for the entire state of New Jersey until at least midday Saturday. That means wind chills are expected to sink well below 0, presenting a very real danger for frostbite and hypothermia in less than 30 minutes. If you'll be spending any substantial time outside, even during the day on Friday and Saturday, you need to protect and cover every possible square inch of exposed skin.

Here's a day-by-day rundown of the near-record cold and bitter wind chills:
--Friday: Highs 12 to 19. Wind gusts to 40 mph. Wind chill near 0 all day.
--Friday Night: Lows -2 to 7. Sustained winds to 20 mph. Wind chill down to about -15.
--Saturday: Highs 8 to 17. Wind gusts to 30 mph. Wind chill near 0 all day.
--Saturday Night: Lows -5 to 6. Winds finally begin to calm.
--Sunday: Highs 20 to 26. Light winds.

The most impressive statistic I can share is that Newark Airport's forecast high temperature on Saturday of just 14 degrees would be the coldest day there since February 2003.

Welcome Warmup

Even lovers of cold and snow will appreciate this news — we've got a (little) warmup in the forecast!

For the first time since Christmas Day, most (if not all) of the Garden State will climb above the freezing mark on Monday. Forecast high temperatures range from 35 to 40 degrees.

It looks like seasonable weather will continue for next week. Normal highs for early January range from 39 to 42 degrees. And that's about where we'll end up through at least Tuesday and Wednesday too.

Next Weather-Maker

Our next potential burst of wintry weather will be a cold front in the late Monday to early Tuesday frame. It's a pretty weak and unimpressive system, but the precipitation type forecast looks tricky. Isolated showers are possible as early as Monday afternoon, with the bulk of this system swinging through the state between 7 p.m. Monday and 7 a.m. Tuesday.

With temperatures hovering on either side of the freezing mark, a wintry mix appears likely: mostly snow in far North Jersey, a mix of snow-sleet-freezing rain for northern and central NJ, and mostly rain to the south. A half-inch of snow accumulation and a trace of ice are possible, which could be enough to cause some minor travel problems.

We'll keep an eye on it — if it turns into something more significant, you'll be among the first to know.

Dan Zarrow is Chief Meteorologist for Townsquare Media New Jersey. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter for the latest forecast and realtime weather updates.

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