The temperature is expected to drop to 8 overnight. This morning it was 16 and breezy, with a chill factor of 2 at 6:30.
To put it simply, it's quite cold out this morning. It was 16 degrees at 6:30, but very breezy, pushing the chill factor down to 2 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
The coldest air in two years has settled in over the Lehigh Valley and northwest New Jersey with the overnight temperature expected to fall to 8 by Wednesday morning and with the chill factor possibly venturing south of 0.
On the positive side, the current temperature is 34 degrees warmer than the all-time area low on Jan. 21, 1994, of 15 below zero. The chill factor that day was below -30. I walked home that night. My glasses froze from my breath.
Same thing didn't happen today, but I was wearing running tights under lined pants, along with three layers below my -20 parka and gloves.
In 1994 the cold was fueled by a serious snow pack -- it snowed about 77 inches that winter. But this year there's been very little, although it is likely come Friday, the weather service says.
Dress for the cold this morning, and for the next few days. And beware of exposed skin. It takes an extra minute or two, but you'll appreciate it. And don't leave your car warming up without you in it. Someone will take it.