NEXT Weather Alerts are in effect all weekend in the Twin Cities due to the arrival of extreme cold.

A cold weather advisory is in effect for most of Minnesota from midnight Saturday through 10 a.m. Sunday for wind chills near minus 30 degrees. An extreme cold warming will be in effect for northwestern Minnesota through Sunday afternoon.

As the system that dropped some light snow across parts of the state exits, wind gusts are picking up out of the northwest — up to 30 mph in the metro — driving in the dangerous cold for this weekend.

Temperatures tumble big time going into the weekend. Highs will fall from the teens to near minus 5 on Saturday morning:

• Saturday morning: wind chills between minus 20 to minus 25.
• Saturday afternoon: wind chills near minus 20.
• Sunday morning: wind chills between minus 25 to minus 30.
• Sunday afternoon: wind chills near minus 15.

If temperatures remain below zero all day Saturday, it will be the coldest day in the metro since Feb. 17, the earliest zero-or-lower high since Dec. 12, 2000 and the 15th earliest zero-or-lower high on record.

Remember: frostbite can set in on exposed skin in just 10 to 20 minutes in these conditions.

The metro will see an extremely fast warmup for much of next week, with above-average highs in the 30s.

Another arctic blast arrives on Thursday morning. It remains to be seen if this will be as severe as the current blast.

Rain or snow showers will accompany the arctic cold front on Wednesday night and/or Thursday, and more flurries or snow showers are possible Friday as milder air tries to get back into the region.

Minnesota will certainly have a white Christmas, defined as at least an inch of snow on the ground at 6 a.m. on Dec. 25.