Cold air and clear skies: Bundle up this weekend

With clear skies, it’s going to be a frigid night with lows in the low to mid 20s, chief meteorologist Greg Fishel said.

A high pressure system squatting over the central part of the country is bringing the cold air in from the north. While Raleigh dips well below freezing on Friday night and Saturday, the cold infiltrating the middle of the United States is pushing temperatures in Denver, Colorado to single digits and Bismark, North Dakota to minus 11 degrees.

“Clear skies at least tonight," Fishel said. "That will allow temperatures to drop well below freezing down into the 20s.”

Saturday will be sunny and cold, but a bit milder than Friday.

"Plenty of cold, dry air in the area, but also plenty of sunshine," Fishel said. "No worries of precipitation for at least a few days."

On Sunday, sunshine will give way to increased cloud coverage. It won’t be quite as cold with highs in the upper 40s to low 50s.

"We may see a few harmless clouds in the sky,” Fishel said. “But for the most of the day, we'll enjoy a great deal of sunshine before it clouds up later.”

Fishel said there’s a chance of rain Monday and Tuesday as temperatures warm up.

“Clouds will be a sign that things are going to change and change rather significantly as we head into Monday of next week,” he said.