Coldest Christmas in decades is possible for parts of US: What to expect

Even the south will be below freezing on Friday.

ByEmily Shapiro, Max Golembo, and Melissa Griffin
December 23, 2022, 2:35 PM

It's time to bundle up: this could be the coldest Christmas in decades for parts of the country.

Here's the latest forecast:

In Cheyenne, Wyoming, the temperature dropped 43 degrees in just 1 hour.

Denver fell to a low of minus 24 on Thursday with a high of minus 6, making it the coldest day in the city since 1983. The Denver Coliseum has been converted into a 24/7 warming center.

On Friday, the wind chill -- what temperature it feels like -- is forecast to plunge to a bone-chilling minus 33 degrees in Chicago and minus 27 degrees in Kansas City.

PHOTO: Bus riders wait at a sheltered stop in Chicago's Loop as snow falls and a public service message reminds riders of the winter storm in Chicago, Dec. 22, 2022.
Bus riders wait at a sheltered stop in Chicago's Loop as snow falls and a public service message reminds riders of the winter storm in Chicago, Dec. 22, 2022.
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Even the South will be below freezing on Friday with winds chills falling to minus 17 degrees in Nashville, minus 15 degrees in Little Rock and minus 4 degrees in Dallas.

PHOTO: A musician departs following a show on Broadway, a popular tourist street in Nashville, Tennessee, Dec. 22, 2022.
A musician departs following a show on Broadway, a popular tourist street in Nashville, Tennessee, Dec. 22, 2022.
Seth Herald/AFP via Getty Images

On Saturday morning, the wind chill is forecast reach minus 39 degrees in Minneapolis, minus 16 degrees in New York, minus 14 degrees in Nashville and minus 25 degrees in Columbus.

PHOTO: A dog walker named Courtney walks with her dogs near Lake of the Isles, Dec. 22, 2022, in Minneapolis.
A dog walker named Courtney walks with her dogs near Lake of the Isles, Dec. 22, 2022, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr/AP
PHOTO: Kids shovel snow off a sidewalk and driveway Dec. 22, 2022, in Minneapolis.
Kids shovel snow off a sidewalk and driveway Dec. 22, 2022, in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr/AP

On Christmas morning, the wind chill is forecast to clock in at minus 4 degrees in New York City, 5 degrees in Atlanta, 17 degrees in Jacksonville and 19 degrees in Tampa.

This could mark Nashville's coldest Christmas in 39 years and Atlanta's coldest in 37 years.

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