School vacation week: It’s looking blustery cold with single-digit wind chills

A pedestrian protects her face from the cold while passing through Government Center in Boston on Feb. 5.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff

It’s that time of year again — school vacation week — and many of you may be heading to other parts of New England or perhaps warmer climates. The good news is that after a very messy storm Saturday night into Sunday, it looks like things are going to quiet down for much of the upcoming week.

One of the biggest things you will notice next week is the cold. It’s going to be colder than normal: Temperatures this time of year average in the mid- to upper 30s with 40-degree readings not uncommon. But we’re not going to see anything that mild for a bit.

Behind the weekend weather system, the wind is going to kick up Monday through Wednesday, making it feel much colder. This is due to high pressure building in from Canada.

Daytime highs will be in the 20s Monday through Thursday with wind chills in the single digits; nighttime lows will be in the teens and single digits. If you’re headed to Northern New England, temperatures will only be in the teens during the day, falling to near zero at night.

Forecast wind chills for Monday, Presidents' Day.Boston Globe

What about the warmer weather to the south? This weekend Florida is going to experience temperatures in the 80s during the day and 60s at night with a bit of humidity — think of typical July weather here. This is actually cooler than it was a couple of days ago, when the heat index reached well into the 90s for one of the hottest days they’ve had so far this year.

If you’re headed to the West Coast for the holiday week, this weekend looks somewhat stormy with snow at the higher elevations and rain in the lowlands. After that, the weather looks quiet and this calm weather will stretch into the middle of the country.

Temperatures next week will be more seasonal across the southwest and Florida with the middle part of the country turning very cold.Boston Globe

If you're traveling this weekend, Sunday will be messy across the northeast and along the coast with a weak storm pushing into the Pacific Northwest.Boston Globe

So what about our next possible storm? Late in the week, perhaps Thursday or Friday, a storm will pull off of the Southeast coast. Right now, it looks like it will stay south and east of us, which could mean the entire vacation week is dry, but of course it’s too early to say.

One final note about next week: By the time the kids head back to school on Monday, Feb. 24, we will be experiencing over 11 hours of daylight for the first time since October of last year! It may be a cold week ahead, but springtime light is here.

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