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Wind Chill Could Hit -20 In Some Towns Tonight

BOSTON (CBS) - When all is said and done we may look back at this week of winter as the most harsh of the season.

Two episodes of snow, one Monday night and another coming on Friday night, combined with some of the coldest temperatures we have seen or felt in two years.

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I would say that is a pretty rough week by any hearty New Englander's standards.

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So how low will we go?

It will not be record cold, at least not for the major cities.

Boston's records over the next few nights are -6 and then -13 degrees.  Thankfully, we will not come close to those numbers.

Boston's projected lows overnight tonight are around 8 degrees and by Thursday morning around 4 degrees.

Worcester's records on Wednesday and Thursday are -13 and -14 respectively, again well out of reach, but actual lows near zero will be nothing to sneeze at.

While the actual air temperatures may not drop to those record lows, the "feels like" temperature surely will. There will be a biting, gusty wind for most of tonight and again tomorrow night, producing wind chill values near 20 below in the northern and western burbs.

Cities like Fitchburg, Nashua, New Hampshire and many others in the Worcester Hills will bottom out below zero the next few mornings.  Combine that with wind gusts 20 mph or greater and you've got a temperature that feels like -20 or even lower, truly dangerous cold.

We have not been this cold in southern New England since January 24, 2011 when Boston had a high of just 13 degrees and a low of -2.

When all is said and done with this cold snap, many New England towns will have spent more than a week below 32 degrees - starting this past Sunday night when temperatures first dipped below freezing and ending either this Saturday afternoon for some or perhaps as late as next Monday afternoon for others!

You can follow Terry on Twitter at @TerryWBZ.

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