Poplar Bluff and nearby residents should prepare for somewhat of a heat wave, as temperatures are expected to reach 42 degrees on Sunday, making it the warmest, and only, weekend of 2018 thus far.
Despite a series of historically low temperatures occurring just after Christmas through Tuesday, no cold-weather emergencies were reported by area officials.
Butler County Emergency Management Director Robbie Myers and Jeff Shawan of the Southeast Missouri chapter of the American Red Cross said they did not hear of anything out of the ordinary occurring during the cold spell. Similarly, officials from the Butler County Health Department said no area residents sought shelter at the facility, which serves as a community warming center.
Tuesday morning, temps fell to 1 degree in Poplar Bluff, which is within three degrees of the record. According to Weather Underground's online almanac, the coldest temperature on record at the Poplar Bluff Municipal Airport on Jan. 2 occurred in 1928, when it plummeted to minus 2 degrees.
Though temperatures are on the rise, the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., said Poplar Bluff residents are not yet in the clear.
According to the weather service's Hazardous Weather Outlook, wind chill readings are expected to land between zero and minus 10 degrees late tonight into Thursday morning.
Today's high is expected to reach 31 degrees, with highs hovering in the 20s until Saturday when it climbs to 34 degrees. Today's expected low is 10 degrees and lows will steadily rise, reaching the 20s on Saturday.
The Hazardous Weather Outlook also noted the potential for a brief, light wintry mix of precipitation across the region Sunday morning.