Pittsburgh Plunging Into Deep Freeze: See How Long It Could Last

PITTSBURGH, PA — If you are waiting for a thaw to melt some of the snow from the biggest winter storm to hit Pittsburgh in nearly 16 years, you could be waiting for a long time.

The National Weather Service has issued an Extreme Cold Warning for the region from 7 p.m. on Monday until 11 a.m. on Tuesday, with local wind chills tumbling down to as low as 25 degrees below zero. But the expiration of the warning hardly will be the end of what promises to be a prolonged period of frigid temperatures in Western Pennsylvania.

First, let's take a look at the weather service forecast for the next week. It is not pleasant.

• Tuesday: High near 18 with wind chill values as low as 17 below zero.

• Tuesday night: Low around zero, with wind chill values as low as minus-eight.

• Wednesday: High near 15.

• Wednesday night: Low around one.

• Thursday: High near 14.

• Thursday night: Low around minus-five.

• Friday: High near 13.

• Friday night: Low around minus-one.

• Saturday: High near 19.

• Saturday night: Low around 1.

• Sunday: High near 23.

It gets a bit better after that, according to The Weather Channel - but not much better.

High temperatures next week are predicted to be 22 on Monday, 27 on Tuesday, 30 on Wednesday, 27 on Thursday, 24 on Friday, 23 on Saturday and 21 on Sunday. The Weather Channel than predicts even colder air to move into the region.

In other words, unless you are planning to jet off to Fort Lauderdale or the Caribbean in the next several weeks it would be advisable to keep the parka handy and don't worry much about purchasing sunscreen.