Staff photo by Fritz Busch Flags on North Broadway are whipped about by Monday’s windy conditions that drove the windchill below zero degrees F. Warmer, less windy weather is forecast for the rest of this week and the early part of next week.

NEW ULM — Old Man Winter arrived Sunday night and Monday with wind gusts close to 50 mph and wind chills below zero degrees F.

Temperatures dipped into the single digits Monday morning but were still well above the record New Ulm low of -15 degrees F. for Dec. 6.

New Ulm won’t be in the deep freeze long. High temperatures are forecast in the high 20s Tuesday and Wednesday, and the low 40s Thursday. As of Monday afternoon, more than six inches of snow are forecast to fall through the day Friday and into early Saturday with a forecast high of 32 degrees.

Meanwhile, the City of New Ulm Street Dept. and Brown County Highway Dept. are ready for what’s to come.

“We’re ready to go. The salt and sand sheds are full with 300 tons of salt and salt/ sand mix,” said City of New Ulm Street Supt. Jeff Hoffmann.

“We may pre-treat some hills Thursday, if its warm enough,” Hoffmann said.

Assistant Brown County Highway Department Engineer Andrew Lang said county storage is full of salt, salt/sand mixture and liquid pre-treatment.

“We should be all set for storms to come through,” Lang said. “We’ll use a liquid, pre-treat brine solution for concrete roads. Plow trucks have saddle tanks to pre-wet the sand mixture, so it sticks to the road.”

Don’t expect much of the snow to last long. Forecast high temperatures next week are in the low to mid 40s with mostly sunny skies for Tuesday, Dec. 14.

The temperature outlook for Dec. 14-20 is above average and slightly above average through December, according to the National Weather Service.

Forecast precipitation levels are about average through December.

For more information, visit www. weather.gov.