Hope you haven’t put away those winter coats and sweaters just yet.

A heaping helping of cold arctic air will move into the area beginning this evening, dropping high temperatures into the 40s this weekend.

Plants began to blossom and pollen filled the air during a January that brought above-average temperatures. Eleven of the month’s 31 days saw highs reach 60, the high mark coming on Jan. 7 when the mercury hit 71 degrees.

“It may not have been the warmest January on record, but it was about two to three degrees above normal,” said meteorologist Justin Lane of the National Weather Service in Greer. “Our data goes back about 70 years and while 45 degrees was definitely above what we’re used to seeing, it isn’t nearly in the avenue of setting any weather records.”

That will be a distant memory this weekend, however, when local residents will crowd around their heating units and pack on extra layers in an effort to keep warm.

“We have a strong Arctic front moving in, so it’ll definitely be noticeably colder this weekend,” Lane said.

Temperatures will dip into the upper 30s Friday night and into Saturday morning. According to Lane, those conditions are expected to remain for much of the weekend, particularly Sunday when the forecast calls for overnight lows to fall well into the 20s.

Milder conditions are expected to return by Monday, with temperatures bouncing back into the upper 40s before returning to the low 50s the following day.

While some forecasters are predicting a slight chance of snow for Tuesday, Lane described such an opportunity for wintry precipitation as “slim to none.”

“On Tuesday we may be expecting a chance of precipitation developing, but such is more likely to be rain rather than snow,” he said. “It could start out with a little sleet or snow mixed in but for the most part rain is what we are expecting.”