Brrrrrrr-eathtaking!

Locals bundled up for what promised to be one of the coldest nights in nearly two years, as an arctic chill continues to creep down the Idaho Panhandle.

The National Weather Service issued a Wind Chill Advisory through 11 a.m. today as wind gusts upward of 35 mph will send already frigid temperatures plummeting below zero. The weather service on Thursday predicted the wind chill to reach 15 below zero just before sunrise today.

Larry Riley, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul, said the overnight warming shelter will be running for at least the next week as the cold spell continues to push frigid air down from Canada. Temperatures today are expected to reach their lowest mark since March 3, 2019, when the National Weather Service recorded a mark of 4 degrees.

“We’re fortunate to have an unused warehouse that was part of our old thrift store off of Seltice within just a stone’s throw of the warming shelter,” Riley said. “We’ve created on our own — through private funding, and 30 bunk beds through Kroc; we’re really pleased about that — we have our nighttime warming shelter."

Riley said the shelter has been open for 53 nights so far this winter, giving an average of 11 people a night — with a winter high of 17 people — shelter from the cold.

“These are not homeless citizens of St. Vinny’s,” Riley said. “These are homeless citizens of the community.”

While the warming shelter is starting to fill up, the streets, sidewalks and parks around Kootenai County started to empty Thursday. The usual assortment of walkers and joggers were mostly absent, though Grace and Glen Haverby of Hayden took their daily walk toward Honeysuckle Beach — but with reservations and regrets.

“It’s too cold for this,” a bundled-up Grace said, a scarf and mask hiding her rosy cheeks. “We usually go the full three miles before we turn around, but I think we’re going to call it a little early today … we’re lucky. We’re a little protected by the hill and the trees. Lord only knows how cold it’s going to get in some of those wide-open places.”

The monitoring station at the Veterans Memorial Bridge just east of Coeur d’Alene, reported a Thursday mid-day wind chill at 7 below zero. One reader who lives on the southern edge of the Rathdrum Prairie reported a Thursday noon wind gust of 28 mph and a wind chill of minus 8 degrees.

Not everybody could escape working in the cold, however. Rhiannon Upmeyer was bundled up in a heavy coat Thursday in her coffee stand on the corner of Hayden Avenue and Ramsey Road.

“We’re keeping the windows open as much as we can,” the barista at Great Escapes said. “It’s better interaction with the customers. But there’ve been times where we’ll keep one window open and one window shut. And there were times where we had to keep both windows shut, because it just wasn’t happening.”

While the Wind Chill Advisory is set to expire before noon, low temperatures and steady winds will continue through the weekend.

The National Weather Service is reporting highs in the low- to mid-20s through Sunday, with wind speeds in the mid-teens expected to keep the wind chill in single digits through the weekend.

Monday’s forecast calls for snow showers and slightly warmer temperatures in the 20s by mid-week.