Southwest Louisiana is just days away from the beginning a potential arctic outbreak — the region’s second cold blast of the new year.

National Weather Service Lake Charles Lead Meteorologist Joe Rua said “probabilities are increasing” that arctic air will surge down into the central United States and toward the Gulf Coast early next week.

This air mass has the potential to bring the coldest temperatures of the winter season so far, likely from Jan. 20 to Jan. 23, Rua said. During this time there is an 84 percent chance for Southwest Louisiana to experience below-normal temperatures.

Rua said during this weather event, the so-called “polar vortex” will move down into Canada just north of the Great Lakes. Arctic air from Siberia and the North Pole will then drop down on the back side of the vortex through the Plains and toward the Gulf Coast.

“Although subfreezing temperatures and very cold wind chills will likely accompany this air mass, it is still too early for exact details on how low the temperatures will be or potentially how dangerous the winds chills will be,” Rua said.

It’s all too soon to know if any winter-type precipitation will happen.

“Looking at the probabilities, there is a low-end chance for snow and/or freezing rain sometime between Monday and Thursday,” Rua said. “We will watch these probabilities closely over the next several days to see if the risk is increasing or decreasing and if it does happen, the timing.”