Bundle up, DeKalb – temperatures in the upcoming weeks may plummet.

NIU staff meteorologist Gilbert Sebenste said a substantial amount of snowfall over the next five days would lead to below-freezing temperatures for the next two weeks.

The DeKalb area is expected to get snowfall Friday, and if a cold front sitting over central Canada comes down to the region as expected, the area can expect snow on Monday and Tuesday. Along with the snow will come arctic air.

If there are 6 inches of snow on the ground, as expected, the arctic front could stick around, possibly making air temperatures up to 20 degrees cooler, Sebenste said.

That is, of course, if the colder weather ever makes it.

Mark Ratzer, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service-Chicago, said there is a good chance that the arctic cold front will stay just north of this region, meaning DeKalb would escape both the snow and the cold.

“We can’t really rule out anything, but a blizzard is unlikely,” Ratzer said.

Other meteorologists also have conflicting theories on the upcoming weather. Meteorologists at Accuweather told Reuters International that the Midwest soon could experience cold temperatures over a two-week period not seen since 1977 and 1978.

About the only thing that remains constant from meteorologists’ reports is the fact that increased snow over the next few days will keep temperatures very cool.

The colder weather would be a change from the relatively mild winter the area has been experiencing.

We are at least a foot of snow behind what’s normal and the temperatures have been relatively mild, with this season’s low reaching only 7 below zero, Sebenste said.

And the weekend is expected to be just as mild, with temperatures getting above 30. But by Tuesday the cold spell could hit.

Will it get cold enough to cancel classes? Sebenste said he’s not certain, but he does have a say in it.

Sebenste makes recommendations to the university based on whether or not he considers the cold will be life-threatening to those bundled up properly.

Until the cold front comes (or doesn’t come), class cancellations are not even an option, Sebenste said.

“We’re watching the models with bated breath,” he said.