Much of Alabama was shivering under a blanket of arctic air on Tuesday morning, with ice and snow on the ground in many areas, icy roads and freezing winds.

The National Weather Service warned that temperatures in some parts of Alabama could fall below zero tonight, and dangerous cold and wind chills will be possible statewide through Wednesday morning.

Here are the forecast lows for Tuesday night into Wednesday morning:

Another blast of arctic air is expected late this week and into the weekend, according to forecasters.

But there is hope on the horizon for those who are sick of the cold.

The weather service said it appears that the weather pattern will flip early next week and could bring warmer temperatures back to the state.

The “warmer” temperatures will start to be felt by Monday and continue into next week.

Here’s the high temperature forecast for Monday, Jan. 22:

Highs will still be in the 40s in north Alabama but will break into the 50s across the rest of the state. Some areas in south Alabama could be closing in on 60 degrees by that point.

And that trend could continue. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center thinks Alabama will have a higher probability of above-average (for January) temperatures next week (that forecast is at the top of this post).

And the CPC’s eight- to 14-day outlook has even higher probabilities for above-average temperatures through the end of the month:

By the way, the last day of meteorological winter will be Feb. 29.