Frostbite possible in just 5 minutes as ridiculous cold engulfs Alaska

Frigid doesn\'t even do the air heading for Alaska this week justice.

ALASKA -- Just six months ago Alaska was baking in record warmth. Many cities and towns saw high temperatures soar into the 70s and 80s, breaking numerous records along the way. 

Now let's fast-forward to late December.

The exact opposite is set to occur as extreme and dangerous cold is set to grip the state. It's not just going to be extremely cold by Michiana standards. It'll be ridiculously cold even by Alaska standards.

Many locations throughout the state will see daytime highs between -20° and -40°.

Overnight lows in those same locations will drop as low as -30° to -55°! That is insane cold, even for Alaska. 

Not only is it insane cold, but it is dangerous cold. When you factor in a little bit of wind, it will feel like it's as cold as -40° to -70° depending on your location of choice. 

Yes, that sentence included -70°. 

So let's take one of the coldest locations in the state and look at the forecast wind chill each morning over the next five days.

Umiat is an unincorporated community in North Slope Borough, Alaska, in the northern part of the state. It is notoriously one of the colder locations in the entire state.

Forecast wind chills are between -37° and -70° every morning through the upcoming weekend. The -68° and -70° values are so cold they break our temperature color chart here at ABC 57 News.

Wind chill values that low are very dangerous and certainly can be life-threatening. Using the National Weather Service's Wind Chill Chart, we outlined what many in Alaska will be experiencing over the next several days.

With wind chills as low as that, frostbite can easily develop -- even on healthy person's skin -- in under 10 minutes!