Mild winter coming after cold snap

Bitter cold temperatures will remain in the forecast until Monday, but meteorologists expect a return to mild winter weather conditions later this month. Temperatures are expected to remain dangerously cold today in much of the U.S., with wind chill advisories stretching from the Canadian border as far south as Texas, as a large area of low pressure from the North Pole continues to dominate the nation's weather patterns. In Northwest Ohio, the high temperature today is expected to reach only 11 degrees, with wind chill values as low as -9 degrees. A wind chill advisory, issued by the National Weather Service office in Cleveland, will remain in effect until noon Wednesday. Wind chills on Wednesday morning are expected to be -13 degrees. The high temperature on Wednesday will reach about 22 degrees. Karen Clark, a meteorologist with the weather service office, said daytime temperatures in Northwest Ohio in mid-January are normally in the mid-30s, with lows around 20 degrees. After a mild start to the winter season, colder temperatures arrived last week with a vengeance. "It's that combination of very low temperatures and wind speed that leads to those wind chill values," she said. "We finally got a very strong push of air coming down out of the higher latitudes." Snow is expected late this week. "That's what we're watching right now," she said. So far, the forecast indicates multiple bouts of snow in Northwest Ohio late this week, with an accumulation of about 2 inches, she said. Temperatures are expected to return to near normal next week, with a daytime high in the 30s by Monday. "We expect a return to above-normal temperatures this winter," she said.