The National Weather Service in San Angelo has issued a winter storm watch for most of the Big Country, as dangerous winter weather is expected to move into the area Monday night.

Seth Nagle, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said a dense arctic air mass will move into the area tonight, bringing bitter cold temperatures and winter precipitation.

“We’re looking at precipitation starting as rain before midnight and transitioning into sleet and freezing rain after midnight,” Nagle said. “The precipitation should transition over to all snow after 3 a.m.”

Nagle said Big Country residents could expect to see between two and five inches of snowfall Monday night.

The coldest temperatures of the year will accompany the front into the region. Nagle said low temperatures tonight will plummet into the low 20s, and high temperatures tomorrow will struggle to reach the mid 20s. Tuesday’s high temperature is forecasted to reach 22 degrees.

Temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday night are expected to fall into or near the single digits. Tuesday’s low is expected to fall to 8 degrees and high temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday will only reach the 20’s. Temperatures are expected to finally climb above freezing on Friday.

The cold front will also bring gusty winds and frigid wind chills below zero degrees.

“The coldest winds will be tomorrow night with wind chills between -5 and -10 degrees at night and single digit wind chills during the day,” Nagle said.

Nagle said with wind chills near or below zero degrees it is important to dress warm and make sure all skin is covered.

“The biggest thing to do is dress in layers,” Nagle said.” When wind chills are below zero you don’t want to have exposed skin.”