An arctic air mass has settled over North Dakota, and the Minot area can expect subzero temperatures through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

Potentially, Minot won’t see above zero numbers in the forecast until Monday, Jan. 26. The coldest period has started and will continue through Friday, Jan. 23, said NWS meteorologist Megan Jones.

“We’re just getting a really impressive Arctic high pressure, which does typically happen at least once a winter in North Dakota. But it’s bringing in this really big area of extremely cold air,” she said. “That’s what’s going to be leading to our really cold temperatures. There’s some reinforcing shots of cold air coming in as well.”

The temperature Friday is projected to be around -12, but wind chill could feel as cold as -45 degrees. The west wind should drop off to 5-7 mph in the afternoon, but across the northern tier of the state, wind chills of -45 to -55 are likely, Jones said.

Friday night’s forecasted high is around -22, with wind chills to -30. Saturday and Sunday are forecasted to bring sunshine and little wind, allowing the temperature to get near that zero mark both days. Saturday’s low will be around -25, and Sunday night’s temperature could dip to -11, with winds starting to pick up again.

By Monday, the partly sunny forecast includes temperatures around 12 degrees, although with a northwest wind of 10-14 mph and gusts of 25 mph. Jones said that won’t last as below normal temperatures will be back by the end of the week.

“It’s going to be feeling pretty cold for a lot of people, compared to the first half of the month,” she said.

The NWS advises people to take precautions during this weekend’s extreme cold.

“Our best advice is to really limit time outdoors, if you at all can. If you can’t, make sure that you limit your time outdoors as much as possible, that you’re wearing multiple layers, that if you have to travel, you’re telling people of your plans. Because when it gets this cold, it is life-threatening. Frost-bite can set in as little as 5-10 minutes, and then you start getting into the risk of hypothermia as well. So, we do want people to be very careful with these temperatures,” Jones said.

People also should ensure they have a winter emergency kit in their vehicles if they travel, she said.

While it’s possible this won’t be the last extreme cold of the winter, the NWS doesn’t have a clear long-range forecast to say whether that might be coming.

“But we are favored for below normal temperatures in February, and that does end up being our coldest month a lot of the time. So, I would not be surprised if we end up with at least another decent cold snap sometime in February,” Jones said.