Blast of cold on the way in Capital Region

PHOTOGRAPHER: Marc Schultz

Elvina Kirkland stays warm and bundled up along Broadway in Schenectady on Jan. 4, 2016, as the temperature dropped into the teens. For starters, tonight's low is expected to fall to 7 degrees.

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The big cold is coming.

People who have lamented the absence of an “old-fashioned winter” finally will get a chance to celebrate.

The coldest temperatures of the season are on the way, starting with a low of 7 tonight, according to the National Weather Service in Albany.

The weather service forecasts snow showers Friday afternoon and into the evening, with a high of 25, followed by single-digit temperatures Friday night.

There’s a slight chance of snow showers Saturday, but an excellent chance for ice-cold air. Forecasters say the high will be only 10 degrees.

Saturday night, the temperature is expected to drop to minus 9 degrees. On Sunday, the numbers will rise above zero — but not by much. A high temperature of 9 is in the forecast, before a return to zero for the overnight, the weather service said.

It’s still going to be cold Monday for the Presidents Day holiday. Weather watchers say there will be partly sunny skies and a high of 25 degrees.

NWS meteorologist Brian Montgomery said wind-chill temperatures on Saturday and Sunday could drop to 20 to 30 degrees below zero in the Mohawk Valley, while a wind chill close to 45 below is possible in parts of the Adirondack Mountains.