Bitterly cold airmass on the way...

It is a frigid morning across the region. Many mountain spots are in the single digits. In fact, as I type, Banner Elk is reporting a temperature of 0 with a wind chill of -17.

The winds have been significant overnight and this morning. Some trees have even come down due to the winds.

Out in the piedmont, many spots had single digit wind chill values around daybreak today, and highs will struggle to make it to around freezing. Lows tonight will then head into the teens across most of the foothills and piedmont.

The next system approaches Sunday, and if the light precip arrives early enough Sunday morning, a brief period of very light freezing rain would be possible in the foothills and northwest piedmont. But it would quickly warm above freezing with shower chances persisting into Sunday night.

An even colder (coldest in years and in some instances, decades in the eastern US) will plunge in for Monday through Wednesday. I still think this could deliver some piedmont lows into the single digits Tuesday and/ or Wednesday morning, and piedmont highs Tuesday should struggle to hit the low to mid 20s.

See the video for plenty more information: