Bitterly cold weather to close out what has been unusually warm January in Kansas City

Better late than never? Hardly, when it comes to a cold snap that will usher in bitterly cold wind chills to the Kansas City area after what has been an unusually warm month.

Don’t let conditions in the mid-40s to near 50 degrees on Friday and Saturday lull you into thinking the cold is behind us. Temperatures will tumble into the teens by Sunday morning, with wind chills making it feel more like the single digits, according to the National Weather Service in Kansas City.

The cold weather arrives just in time for the NFL’s AFC Championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday evening at Arrowhead Stadium. Tailgaters will be fighting to keep warm as wind chills will be in the single digits.

By the 5:30 p.m. scheduled kickoff, temperatures are expected to be in the lower to mid-20s with wind chills around 10 degrees, according to the weather service.

Temperatures will fall into the teens overnight. Wind chills on Monday morning are expected to be below zero. The frigid weather is expected to linger through much of next week.

The cold weather is arriving at a time that Kansas City typically sees its coldest weather of the season coming to an end.

The coldest period for Kansas City typically is between Jan. 10th and 26th, according to the weather service. This year, however, has been unusually warm — just shy of 8 degrees warmer.

The normal maximum temperature during that stretch typically is 38 degrees. This year, Kansas City averaged 44.3 degrees. The average minimum temperature is 19 degrees but this year the average was 28.2 degrees, the weather service said on social media.