Read 'em and weep: You can bet your bottom dollar on a bitterly cold weekend

Intellicast.com temperature map shows the cold facts.

Been waiting for the Big Chill?

Wait no more.

The coldest temperatures of the winter thus far are headed for the Northern Seacoast tonight and will hang around for the entire weekend, impacting among other things, the Patriots' home Divisional Round playoff game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Strafford County officials have noted there is no expectation of having any warming shelter open during the cold snap, which will see wind chills around -8 overnight tonight.

Tri-City Coop Director Martha Hewett said she's had conversations with several homeless individuals who frequent her Summer Street facility, and, "They have places to stay warm," she said today.

Tory Jennison, the Director of Public Health and Integrated Delivery Network director for Strafford County and the Seacoast, said officials have no intention of opening the warming shelter at the Alms House on the County Complex in Dover over the next five days.

Any decision to open the shelter, now described as an "Extreme Cold Weather Shelter," would be determined by "weather related situational awareness provided by NH Homeland Security and Emergency Management." Jennison said on Thursday.

After a bitter cold high today of 18 degrees with a wind chill of 4, temps will plummet tonight to 5 degrees with a wind chill of -8, according to Accuweather reports.

Saturday temps will rise only slightly with a high of 21 with a wind chill of 10. Winds will then diminish Saturday night with lows hovering around 3 and a wind chill of zero.

Sunday's high will climb to 23 with a low of just 2, a scenario Patriots' fans hope will favor the hometown team.

"Temperatures will start in the upper teens and 20s during the morning hours for pregame tailgates," AccuWeather Meteorologist Renee Duff said. "Temperatures will rise to only around 26 for kickoff and will hover around this mark throughout the game."

AccuWeather meteorologists expect a snowstorm moving through the mid-Atlantic on Sunday to stay south of the area. Only if the storm tracks farther north, it could bring some snow to the area.

While snow could impact the game in Foxborough, Mass., no measurable snow is predicted for the Greater Rochester area.

The three-day cold snap will relax its grip on Monday with highs near 30 and even more on Tuesday with a high predicted around 32.