SIDNEY - If you've missed winter, you won't miss it much longer.

A cold front was expected to swing through the Nebraska Panhandle Wednesday night, bringing bitter cold temperatures and accumulating snow. 

The National Weather Service issued a wind chill watch for Morrill, Scotts Bluff, Sioux, Dawes, Box Butte, Sheridan, Garden and Deuel Counties in the Nebraska Panhandle and Goshen County in southeast Wyoming from Friday afternoon through Tuesday morning. The watch expands across the entire state of Nebraska.

The weather service says gusty winds are forecast to bring wind chill values down to -30°F to -45°F. They advise to limit time spent outdoors and cover all exposed skin. Frostbite and hypothermia will set in quickly.

Sioux, Dawes, Box Butte, Sheridan and Garden Counties are also included in a winter weather advisory from 11 p.m. Wednesday through 5 a.m. Friday. Three to six inches of snow is possible in the advisory area, including the Nebraska Sandhills. 

“As this next storm arrives, it’s important to keep the safe winter-driving mindset and also be prepared for frigid conditions,” Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol Colonel John Bolduc said. “If you become stranded, stay in your vehicle and call for help. Do not risk exposure to the extreme cold by leaving your vehicle. Call the NSP Highway Helpline and our dispatchers will get help to you as soon as possible.”

Winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings are also in place across the majority of Nebraska. This will be the second round of winter weather this week for central and eastern Nebraska. On Monday, heavy snowfall, blizzard conditions, and ice-covered roadways closed roads and forced the Nebraska State Patrol to respond to more than 350 emergency calls.