Kevin Myatt is The Roanoke Times' weather columnist.

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When Maine sets an all-time record temperature, you know it has been a historic Arctic outbreak.

That may have happened at Big Black River, Maine, which recorded a temperature of 50 degrees below zero on Friday morning. The National Weather Service will closely scrutinize the data and equipment before it can officially declare the new record.

No records were established in Southwest Virginia, but the sharp cold snap was certainly worthy of its billing. Roanoke's low of 3 degrees and Blacksburg's low of minus 4 on Saturday morning were the lowest temperatures since February 1996.

This Arctic outbreak could have been even worse if two factors had been present: (1) Blocking high pressure in the North Atlantic to lock in the Arctic air mass, drive it even farther south and keep it from slipping away so quickly. (2) Snow cover.

Not having No. 1 is also a big reason we don't have No. 2. The chilly weather will not easily go away this week, and some days won't get above 40. Through Friday, there doesn't look to be a lot of precipitation, but some weak disturbances could trigger light snow.

The best chance will be early today. Amounts of up to an inch are possible in the Roanoke Valley, with a little more to the west.